You May Have Already Won!
by Kvaedi
Summary: Summary in ch. 1. Chapter 10 up, yay! I still need more reviews! Not your average new-tournament fic: R&R! PLEASE!
1. Via Dal Vecchio Castello

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, but if I did, we'd have an uncut, subbed version of BOTH series in the USA, an English translation of the manga, and cuddly little Yugi dolls with brushable hair...*crosses fingers*... 

**Author's Note**: This is a revised version of chapter one! Really, I didn't change it at all except that I've done a bit of reorganizing, and added the following: 

**Summary**: After Yugi defeats Pegasus, he returns home only to find that he's been invited to yet another tournament! But before the tournament even starts, there's trouble awaiting him and his friends. What is the connection between seemingly incongruous people and events? What do the tournament's organizers want with Anzu? With Yugi? Will their friendships survive a series of ultimate trials? And most importantly, will Yugi and Anzu, and Jou and Mai, ever get over themselves and admit how they feel for one another?   
    If you're a fan of Yugi/Yami, Anzu (Téa), Jounouchi (Joey), Bakura, or Honda (Tristan) (!), you will love this story! If you like Mai and Kaiba, you'll love it in later chapters! All characters will make appearances by the time this thing gets done. Promise!   
    Non-yaoi, no Mary Sues. But it does have just about everything you love in a fanfiction, and definitely all you love about YGO! 100% of your daily Vitamin IC needs. =D 

**You May Have Already Won!**

By Kvaedi 

_Adventure One: Days of Disaster_

Chapter One - Via Dal Vecchio Castello

*takes place at the end of the Duelist Kingdom arc, before another set of stories starts up. 

    Yugi was thrilled to be back home again, at last. Although he was completely exhausted--as though anyone had done anything other than party after that victory--he felt so relieved, so happy. He had his grandfather back, and now everyone was heading home to sleep. The night sky was clear overhead, and he stared up at the stars, his hands in his pockets, as they waited for a cab. The crisp wind blew his yellow bangs in front of his glassy purple eyes. 'What an adventure,' he thought, his mind wandering...his eyelids began to close...   
    Jounouchi gave him a clap on the back that nearly knocked his lungs out his nose. "'Ey, Yug', smell ya later, eh?"   
    "Um, yeah, smell you tomorrow, too, Jou," said Yugi, recovering his balance. Honda and Jou looked at each other with raised eyebrows.   
    "So, what perfume ya gonna wear?" Honda asked, fluttering his eylashes. The two began to scuffle.   
    "Wiseass...I oughtta..." grumbled Jou.   
    Sugoroku, Yugi's grandfather, began to laugh. "I think my grandson needs some rest, and this cabbie doesn't look like he'll wait forever. Come on, Anzu, we'll take you home with us, so you don't have to ride with those walking hormones."   
    "Who ya callin' a hormone?" demanded Honda and Jou, as Sugoroku, Yugi, and then Anzu squeezed into the cab's back seat.   
    "Probably you, perfume-boy," chided Honda.   
    "Oh YEAH?"   
    "Let's see, I bet you wear...Obsession!"   
    "Huh? I don' even know what dat is! What the hell are you talkin' about?" Jou demanded, his fists up.   
    "I would have thought he was more of a Polo Sport man myself," offered Bakura, smiling sideways.   
    "Hey, you stay out of this!" Jou howled.   
    "My mom has plenty of perfume, if you're out, Jou."   
    "That girl Mai has even more. I'd wager she'd be a dear if you asked her nicely," offered Bakura.   
    "That DOES it! I'm gonna make you regret you ever crossed me!" Jou shouted. 

    Yugi's face was beet red. He watched Jou and Honda argue for a minute, then waving goodbye to his friends, he slumped against the torn leather seat of the taxi. It smelled like gym socks, hamster cages, and week-old sashimi.   
    "Where to?" barked the driver, blowing yellow tendrils of smoke from his mouth and nose. A fat stogie with two inches of ash at the end (defying gravity) hung from his blackened lip, and his equally blackened fingers adjusted the fare meter. Static crackled from the broken speakers of the radio. Sugoroku barked back at the man, and the cab lurched forward into the street, cutting off three people and frightening pedestrians.   
    Yugi cringed at the noise and coughed on the smoke. This guy was worse than the weird foreign cabbies, and smarmy like Bandit Keith. Only, Bandit Keith had some charm. Yugi retreated further into the cushion, blushing deeper as his leg came close to brushing Anzu's next to him.   
    She yawned and stretched, smiling at him. "Wow, Yugi," she said. "I don't think I've been this tired since..." she paused. "You know, I think I'm too tired to remember."   
    "I know what you mean, Anzu. I can hardly even keep my eyes open!" Yugi confessed. He looked over at her, but she was already asleep. A silly grin spread across his face, without him realizing it.   
    Yugi heard his grandfather chuckle. "What, Grandpa?" he asked.   
    Sugoroku just winked at Yugi, giving him a huge thumbs-up. "You two must have gotten pretty close in the Duelist Kingdom, eh, Yugi?" He winked again.   
    Yugi looked embarrassed. As a matter of fact, he'd gotten closer to all his friends, but none in "that way." He thought about Anzu for a minute, and found his thoughts wandering. Sugoroku shook his head. The driver adjusted his mirror, and cut in front of an ambulance. Yugi dozed off with a siren blaring in his ears.   
    He awoke with a start as the driver pulled up in front of Anzu's house. Even Sugoroku was asleep. Immediately he noticed the mirror. The driver's cold eye stared back at him, but Yugi could clearly see that the man was looking at Anzu. He felt a twinge of anger, and energy coming from his puzzle, but he suppressed it. The driver spoke.   
    "It's her stop. Pay up." He pointed to the ungodly sum on the fare meter. Yugi reached for his grandpa's wallet, and pulled out some notes.   
    "Oh, I'm home!" Anzu said, waking up. "Bye Yugi, Grandpa!" She hugged Yugi and then hopped out of the cab, skipping up to her front door.   
    "Bye, Anzu," said Yugi, and turned to pay. The cabbie took the money, but stuffed it into his pocket without looking at it. He was staring out the window. Sugoroku let out a loud snore, and the cabbie drove again. Now Yugi was awake, and he watched the man in the mirror all the way to the game shop. There he paid his and Sugoroku's fare, and he woke the old man up. 

    "Great to be home!" the old man pronounced. They stood in front of the door to the Turtle Game Shop, the sign reading "Out to Lunch", and the corner of an envelope peeking out of the old-fashioned mail slot. Yugi watched the cab drive away, his lower eyelid twitching, his hand on his puzzle. Sugoroku noticed. "Something wrong?"   
    "That man gave me a strange feeling...like the others I've met, who hid their true nature..."   
    "Well, I have no idea what you're talking about. Besides, no need to worry about him now! Let's have a look and see how the shop held up while we were away."   
    "Right, Grandpa!" Yugi felt better already. He took the key to the shop from his pocket and opened the door--   
    And fell into a pile of mail as tall as he was.   
    "Yugi! Are you okay?"   
    "I'm fine, and look at this," he said, laughing and holding up a "Publisher's Clearing House" mailing. "You may have already won! Three million dollars!"   
    Sugoroku laughed. "Now that's going in the shop window! Let's get this mess cleaned up, first." Yugi nodded.   
    As he dug through the pile, Yugi began talking rapidly. "Just look at all this mail! We only just left! I guess it sure piles up quickly, huh, Grandpa? We must be on every junk mail list in the country! Doesn't anyone use e-mail? Or instant messaging? Of course I get a lot of junk mail there, too..."   
    "...Grandpa?"   
    Sugoroku stood transfixed. Slowly, he lifted his hand, and pointed to a spot in the pile.   
    "Wh-what is it, Grandpa...?" Yugi slowly turned to look.   
    He screamed when he saw it.   
    "A...a...another tape!" He took a step backwards and slipped on a gaming catalog. "I'm not watching it!"   
    "I'm not touching it!" proclaimed Sugoroku.   
    //Bring it on...// said a voice in Yugi's head.   
    "I don't think that would be wise," said Yugi aloud.   
    "What? Why not? We'll just leave it where it is, and hopefully some customer will take it off our hands, either that or we can burn it, yes, let's burn it."   
    Yugi walked to the back of the store and stepped behind the counter. "What are you doing?" called Sugoroku. Yugi didn't answer; he just picked up a pair of gloves used for handling the rarest cards. "You're going to touch it! Yugi, leave it alone."   
    "Grandpa, don't worry. We took care of Pegasus, so what danger could there be in looking--"   
    Sugoroku held his breath as Yugi tore off the plain brown paper that wrapped the tape. "Ha, as I thought, it's nothing to worry about!"   
    "What is it?"   
    "Well, it says here 'Hot, Wild, and Barely Leg-'" Sugoroku grabbed the tape from Yugi's hands before he could finish.   
    "Give me that!" He held it up over his head.   
    "No fair, Grandpa! I want to see!"   
    "Not until you're over eighteen. You wouldn't appreciate this masterpiece. Besides, you need to be getting to bed."   
    Yugi slumped, suddenly remembering his fatigue. "Yeah, I know. I could sleep for a week!"   
    "Not this week, my grandson. You have school tomorrow!" Sugoroku grinned lecherously at the tape. Yugi flinched. "And...think about it this way. Even champions have much to learn."   
    "...Especially about women," Sugoroku added under his breath.   
    "I heard that," said Yugi. "Well, goodnight, Grandpa. It's good to be home."   
    "Good indeed." 

    Once Yugi was in bed, Sugoroku scooped up the rest of the mail and popped in the tape. It wasn't very interesting, as in his extensive travels Sugoroku had seen it all before. He mindlessly sorted the letters, until one caught his attention.   
    "What's this? For Yugi?"   
    The envelope was marked "To the champion." Sugoroku carefully peeled back the adhesive, so that it wouldn't look like he'd opened it. The glue stuck to his wrinkled fingers, then finally a paper slipped out.   
    "An invitation to a tournament? But Yugi only just defeated Pegasus! Who could have known?" He scanned the page for information, but found only that the tournament was to be held in America. 'I have a bad feeling about this...' he thought, replacing the paper, and hiding the envelope where Yugi wouldn't find it. Then, returning to his favorite chair and his television women, he let himself fall asleep. 


	2. Those Suspicious Invitations

**Author's Note**: Chapter Two! All right! Now for a plot. And for anyone who was wondering, Chapter One's title means "away from the old castle" in Italian. I suck at titles. Also, my pen name means "poem/song"--it's an Old Norse term. So if you write songfics, that's what they are!   
    Enough
babbling, on with the story! 

Chapter Two - Those Suspicious Invitations

    The
alarm clock had been ringing for five minutes. Yugi's hand tried to find it, but he kept missing. He knocked the lamp on the floor first, and then his deck on top of that. Then all of a sudden--silence. He opened one of his big purple eyes and saw Jounouchi holding down the snooze button. Beyond him, the curtains were billowed out in front of a wide open window.   
    "Jou?
What are you doing here?" Yugi mumbled, surprised.   
    "Er--"
Jou didn't really know how to answer that. "I got lost?"   
    Yugi
pulled himself out of bed. "You got lost, and so you climbed through my window?   
    "What's
it to ya? Can't a guy stop by his friend's house without gettin' interrogated? Jeez, tie me to a chair and shine a bright light in my eyes, why don't ya?"   
    "Um,
I'd rather not," replied Yugi, disappearing into the bathroom.   
    Jou
winced as he realized what he'd just said. "That's not what I meant! Dammit!" He punched the wall, sending a rain of broken sheet rock to the ground. "...Oops."   
    "I
know, Jou," Yugi said from the bathroom, his mouth full of toothpaste.   
    Jou
quickly swept the sheet rock underneath the rug, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't get him picked on. Then, he remembered why he came to Yugi's in the first place. "'Ey, Yug'! I remember now--wha'd ya do with that tape I loaned ya? I was gonna loan it to Honda today."   
    Yugi
remembered _that_ tape with a grin. "Oh, it's on my dresser. Hey, that reminds me! Grandpa got a really good tape in the mail last night, but he wouldn't let me near it. He probably hid it."   
    "It
has to be good, if we can't see it! Leave it to me, I'll find it before you can say 'g-string'!" Jou declared, jumping through the door.   
    'What's
a g-string?' Yugi wondered, pulling on his uniform. 'And why is Jou acting so strange?'   
    "Just don't wake up Grandpa, or you'll never get it!" he shouted, but Jou was already gone. 

    Downstairs
Jou skidded to a halt, at the sight of Sugoroku, his mouth hanging open, snoring in his la-Z-boy. 'Yeesh. One more step and I'd never get that tape. Oh, man, it's gotta be the best one ever--otherwise why would he keep it all to himself?' Jou thought, tiptoeing up to the door and looking around. The TV was still on, but there was nothing on the screen. Piles of mail surrounded the old man's sleeping form, creating a sort of walled fortress.   
    Jou
scratched his head, puzzled. 'No tape here. Let's see, if I were Gramps, where would I hide a really good...' His head hurt from all this thinking. It was like he had a hangover. Then it hit him.   
    "Of
course!" he blurted, then clapped his hand over his mouth. Sugoroku didn't budge, and Jou let out a sigh of relief, then grinned. 'To the vegetable crisper!'   
    In
Jou's house, that's where his dad kept all the really good stuff that he didn't want Jou getting his hands on. Underneath the rotting tomatoes and onions--Jounouchi wasn't one to eat his vegetables--lay a treasure trove of the finest liquor. Jou figured from Yugi's height that he probably didn't eat his veggies, either. He dashed to the kitchen and pulled open the 'fridge door.   
    "Porno,
here I come!"   
    ...
  
    "Huh?"
There was no porn tape, but there was indeed a treasure (and some moldy cauliflower). "What's this? An invitation! A tournament...HEY YUGI!" he shouted. 

    Yugi
draped his puzzle around his neck, then stuffed his books into his school bag. And as he zipped it shut he heard Jou shouting for him. "I'm coming!" he called, scanning the room for his cards. He spotted them on the floor, and frantically gathered them up, stuffing them into his pocket and half running, half falling down the stairs.   
    Jou
held the chilled letter up in front of him triumphantly as Sugoroku staggered out from the den and Yugi flew in, landing on his face.   
    "What
is it, Jou?" Yugi asked.   
    "You
got invited to another tournament! We are going to America!"   
    "America??
Tournament? But we just got back from the last one!" Yugi protested, seizing the letter.   
    "Jounouchi!
What are you doing here, reading Yugi's mail?" demanded Sugoroku.   
    Jou
froze, a drop of sweat on his forehead. "Um..."   
    "Hey
Jou, where'd you get this? It's all cold," said Yugi.   
    "In
the 'fridgerator..." said Jou, giving Sugoroku an odd look.   
    It
was the old man's turn to be embarrassed. "You must have been really tired last night, huh Grandpa?" said Yugi. "But you should have told me, because this is great news! I can't wait to tell everyone!"   
    "Yeah,
let's tell 'em! Race ya to school!"   
    "I
never thought I'd hear you say that!" Yugi laughed, as the two ran out of the house and down the street. 

    Sugoroku
stood alone in the kitchen, with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The fact of another tournament following so close to the last one made him nervous and uncomfortable. Although he was sure that Yugi would win, regardless of the challenge, there was something not quite right going on, and he muttered to himself, trying to figure it out. 

    The
school bells hadn't rung yet, so Jou didn't feel right being there already. He was _never_ early. Yugi, next to him, tried to catch his breath. Jou checked his watch.   
    "Ha!
Beat ya by three whole minutes!" said Jou, kicking away a ball that rolled toward him.   
    "But
did you...have to run...so fast?" Yugi panted.   
    Jou
was about to answer when Bakura and Honda walked up. Honda had a taunting grin on his face, and Bakura looked uncomfortable.   
    "Mornin',"
said Honda, sniffing the air. "Wow, something smells great, like...perfume!"   
    "Shaddup,"
snapped Jou. "We've got news, tell 'em, Yug'."   
    Yugi
took a deep breath and held up the letter, but Honda cut him off.   
    "If
you're talking about the tournament in America, that's yesterday's news. Bakura here called me and told me last night."   
    Jou's
jaw dropped, and Bakura smiled thinly. "But how did he--"   
    "You
got invited, too? That's great, Bakura!" contributed Yugi.   
    Bakura
frowned. "I don't know about this, Yugi. When those invitations were mailed, we were both virtually unknown, and I still am! Why would anyone bother to invite us, all the way from Domino City?"   
    "Maybe
they had ESP. Anyways, who cares? It's a chance to go to the U.S.A," Jou put in.   
    "Were
you invited, Jou?" Honda inquired snidely.   
    "Erk..."
Jou hadn't seen any invitations at his house, and he turned red.   
    "Well,
that didn't stop you before, did it?" asked Yugi.   
    "Ha,
you're right, nothing's gonna stop me!" Jou grinned.   
    "Well,"
said Bakura, "the invitation said that each contestant could bring along one friend. So if I bring Honda, and Yugi brings Jou, that leaves out--"   
    "Hi
guys!" chimed a girl's voice.   
    "Oh,
hi Anzu," said Yugi, while the rest of the group looked away, wincing.   
    "Well,
what's up?" she asked, sensing something amiss.   
    Jou
jumped forward with bravado. "Anzu, you'll be going to America sooner than ya planned. Yugi here got invited to a tournament in the U.S. of A."   
    Her
eyes widened. "Another tournament! Wow!" Yugi blushed a bit, and Honda elbowed Jou for telling. Then Anzu slumped, frowning. "But I don't know if I can go."   
    "Huh?
Why not?"   
    "I
missed so many dance lessons going to the Duelist Kingdom, I don't know if I can miss any more without being kicked out of the class!"   
    Bakura
flinched. "We might none of us be able to go. We've missed a lot of school, and they might not excuse us."   
    Everyone
looked sad, then Jou piped up. "Well, they have to let us out! Yugi's the champion, and they have to let us go to cheer him on!"   
    "We
can always ask. No point in giving up, right?" said Yugi.   
    "Right!"
said everyone, and the bell rang for class. "We'll go at lunchtime," Bakura declared, then excused himself, turned and ran off to class. Honda said he'd better get going, and he and Jou dashed toward their math class at the far end of the school.   
    "Come
on, Yugi," said Anzu, taking his hand. "I don't wanna be late!" Yugi grinned and blushed, and jogged off with her. 

    "Absolutely
not!"   
    The
principal of Domino High School was not listening to reason. He'd already taken a load of crap fromt the superintendant for allowing so many students to head to the Duelist Kingdom tournament, and he didn't give a rat's ass whether this one won it or not. Duel Monsters was just a silly card game, and even if a student from his school won, it brought him no prestige. He looked down from his desk at the five students grouped around it. He didn't like the look on the blond one's face. The one with white hair needed a haircut. The puny one with the Dragonball Z hair needed one too. He pondered enforcing a dress code for hair.   
    "But,
Mr. Principal, Yugi has to go to this tournament!" protested Anzu.   
    "I
don't answer to 'Mr. Principal,'" the man said. "You children have missed a lot of school, and I cannot allow you to go on this trip. That's final!"   
    Jou
opened his mouth to give him a piece of his mind, but the principal anticipated this, and tossed him out of the room. He whirled on the other four, and they jumped out after Jou.   
    "You
kids need to learn to put academics ahead of cheap card games!" he shouted, then turned to his secretary. "See them back to their classes, where they can think about becoming better students." He slammed his door shut behind him.   
    //You'll
change your tune later...//   
    Yugi
shuddered and clutched his puzzle.   
    "That
jackass," muttered Jou.   
    "Who
does he think he's talking to, anyway?" added Honda.   
    "Little
children," answered Anzu, pouting.   
    "Hey
kids! What's got you so blue?" asked a man with a huge, gummy smile and a sharp blue suit. Bakura and Anzu recognized their history teacher.   
    "Oh,
hi Mr. Toshira," said Anzu. Bakura gave the teacher an icy glance, while Honda and Jou looked at each other and shrugged. Yugi felt funny, but couldn't be sure what it was. Like everyone else, he'd heard the rumors. A certain teacher was a little too friendly with his female students. Some even said he had affairs. Some said he made adult films at his huge mansion, and that's how he got all his money. Some said he killed people and ate their eyes, and at night he turned into a huge monster that roamed the sewers.   
    "The
class wasn't the same while you were away. So why are you sad?" Toshira prodded, the expression on his face never changing.   
    She
didn't really want to tell him, but he stepped forward, and she blurted, "the principal won't let us go to another Duel Monsters tournament, that's all."   
    "That's
too bad," he said, suddenly frowning. "But cheer up! I'm letting you be exempt from the next test, since you missed so many days."   
    "Wow!
Thanks a lot!" she exclaimed. The men were glaring, but Toshira paid no attention.   
    "But,
there is something I have to ask you," Toshira added. When Anzu raised an eyebrow, he continued. "If you could stop by my place this evening--I'm putting on a little production and I'd like some help from a star dancer like yourself."   
    Before
anyone could say anything to stop her, Anzu said, "sure, I'll be by right after my modern class," and Toshira winked and was gone.   
    And
the bell rang, and lunch was over.   
    "This isn't fair. I want to be exempt, too," said Bakura. 

    Jou
pulled Yugi aside. "'Ey, Yug'. I heard some rumors about that teacher. I think you heard them too."   
    Yugi
nodded.   
    "Man,
things just go from bad to worse round here," Jou sighed. "Now we have to spend the evening following Anzu to keep her out of trouble, and we don't even get to go to America!"   
    "Oh,
I wouldn't be too sure about that," said Yugi, his voice sounding a little like his Yami. The puzzle in his hands glinted in the fluorescent light.   
    Jou
punched a locker. "You'd better be right." 

End of Chapter 2! Next up...Yami "persuades" the principal to change his mind...and Anzu heads to Toshira's Mansion, with Jou and Honda following behind...I promise it'll be good! 


	3. Allegro Maestoso

**Author's Note**: Wow, a nice review, thank you PhoenixGal! =D   
    So
here is a new chapter, a little bit more action-filled and suspenseful. Hopefully the tone change won't throw you: in a little while, it'll be back to playful again. I hope y'all enjoy.   
    And
my apologies for Yami's behavior in this chapter, it's inspired by some of his actions in the first manga. Those who've seen his methods of punishment know what I'm talking about. 

Chapter Three - Allegro Maestoso

    The
sunset came and passed, a blush of crimson on Domino City before the night-orange of streetlights settled in. There would be no stars tonight.   
    All
through the afternoon, Yugi had kept a silent, dark vigil. He saw the great rush of students escaping their daily prison with the toll of the final bell. He saw the bullies and the tardies straggle out from detention. He saw the teachers leave, carrying stacks of papers to grade.   
    He
saw the abuse that the principal put his secretary through when she snuck out of the building, her eyes full of tears. He saw those teachers who had gone into his office leave it with crushed hearts and fear.   
    Ever
since this principal had arrived, he had been cold and cruel to the students. And now, he had denied them this opportunity to travel to America--and for what? So the school would have a better attendance record, and the superintendant would give him a raise. It was despicable to have a principal who cared so little for the students.   
    All
the while Yugi watched, staring up at the window to the principal's office. Now, with the darkness coming of a sudden, he could see the cast shadow of the one he was waiting for. The light in the window flickered out, and Yugi--possessed by the Yami of his puzzle--knew it was time to make his move.   
    A
soft breeze caught some leaves and scattered them across the patch of concrete where the Yami had just been standing. 

    Meanwhile...
  
    "All
right, girls, let's go! And one, two, three--hit it!"   
    A
blast of loud, heavy-synthed pop music shook the mirrored walls of the dance studio, and nine teenaged girls jumped into the Britney routine. In the center, Anzu tossed back her cropped brown hair before performing a set of moves that would make any overpaid pop princess green with envy.   
    And
hanging from the window ledge outside, Jounouchi wiped away a spot of drool. "So dis is what Burger World was payin' for. I like!"   
    *Tap
tap* A hand tapped his shoulder, and he sprang three feet in the air before landing flat on his tailbone with a dull thud. Jou rubbed his injured coccyx and broke into a string of loud profanity. 

    "Huh?"
said Anzu, suddenly distracted by noise outside. She turned to look, and was smacked in the face by another girl's elbow. 

    "SHHHH!"
hissed Honda, pushing Jou away. "Do you want to blow our cover?"   
    The
blond instantly calmed at the sight of his friend, then as quickly became angry again. "'Ey, Honda, where ya been? It was your idea to follow Anzu to that creepy teacher's house, and her class is almost over!"   
    Honda's
expression turned smug. "For your information, I was gathering some equipment to facilitate our investigation. Behold!" He pulled a wallet-sized digital camcorder from his pocket. "The amazing mini-cam 5000, with optional infrared and nightvision enhancements! And that's not all!" He opened his other hand to reveal three tiny discs, no bigger than the star chips they'd used in the duelist kingdom. "With these super high-tech spy sensor microphones, we can hear anything within a half-mile radius! Pretty sweet, huh?"   
    "I'll
say!" blurted Jou, his eyes wide with the joy of new toys. "Where did you get all this stuff?!" He grabbed for one of the discs, but Honda whisked his hand away and tucked them into his shirt pocket.   
    "I
borrowed it," Honda replied confidently.   
    "From
who?"   
    "...The
AV room..." Honda mumbled.   
    "You
STOLE this stuff from the school?!" Jou shouted.   
    "I
didn't _steal_ it, and pipe down! Besides, you'd never believe what happened while I was there."   
    "I'm
all ears," Jou grinned. 

    The
principal of Domino High School pressed the little button on his keychain, and heard the reassuring squeak of the doors on his monstrous SUV--license plate "IRULEU"--as they unlocked. But looking up, he saw in the flash of the headlights the silhouette of another person, and this gave him pause.   
    "Who's
there?" he called, but there was no answer, just a sudden sharp wind that stung his eyes with playground sand.   
    He
dismissed the silhouette as an illusion, and opened the driver's door. Climbing in, he clipped on his seatbelt and slid the key into the ignition. The only sound was the grumble of the engine. He hated the radio. It was time to go home. The SUV backed up slowly, then peeled out of the parking lot like a drag racer.   
    He
had driven several miles before he saw the narrow purple eyes staring at him from the back seat.   
    "We're
going to play a little game," said Yami. The principal screamed. 

    Back
at the dance studio, Anzu rubbed her injured cheek while the other girl poured on apologies. The instructor was not so sympathetic. She ordered Anzu to take five, and sent another girl up in her place "like last week, when our prima donna didn't feel like coming to rehearsal." Anzu's eyes burned, and she excused herself, heading for the locker room, where a girl could cry in peace.   
    "It's
not fair," she whispered. "I was hardly gone at all, and I've already been replaced. And I'm still a better dancer!"   
    The
injury on her cheek had become slightly swollen, and she touched it gingerly, staring at it in the mirror. "And now, we're not even getting to go to America for this tournament! It's not fair...I'll never get to see New York!" Then she thought of Yugi, and she felt very selfish. Tears streamed out of her eyes. "Why am I crying?" she asked the mirror, but it only misted, and she got no answers.   
    She
pulled a towel from her bag and wetted it at the sink, and dabbed her face. The warm water felt good, and she thought about her friends, and their adventures together. "Things will be okay," she told her mirror self. 

    "So
there I was, sneaking into the AV room after school. I had to wait until everyone was gone, or else they might see me." Honda smiled at his captive audience, and began his flashback... 

    The coast was clear. Only a few homework assignments floated like tumbleweeds down the long, shoe-scuffed corridor. Honda slid out from the shadows by the water fountain with the grace and deadly precision of a serpent. Three steps, and he was in front of the AV room door. With a swift and surreptitious glance, he took a nerdcount. There were five--three at ten o'clock, grouped around a computer with pixellated porn. Then, two more, playing duel monsters (badly) at a table at two o'clock. The AV closet door stood straight ahead at noon. There was no way in without being seen.   
    He
needed a plan, and fast. Dropping down below eye level, he gathered his thoughts and composed a strategy. Then, with lightning speed, he dashed down to the chemistry lab.   
    The
chem lab was dark, but unlocked. Without turning on the lights, he slipped in and made a beeline for the supply closet. That, too, was unlocked. The lab assistants were lazy, and Honda knew this better than anyone. He opened the cabinet marked "flammable." There it was, on the solvent shelf: an enormous can of ether. Honda snickered to himself, then hoisted it up, his strong arms easily lifting the heavy can of liquid. Swiftly he left the chemistry lab and dashed back to the AV room.   
    Honda's
plan was flawless. Earlier that day, he'd pretended to have to go to the men's room, but instead went down to scope out the AV room's setup. Right next door to it was one of the main hubs for the central air conditioning system. Honda had figured this, because the equipment needed to be kept cool. This meant that there was direct access to the air vent.   
    And
into the air vent went the bottle of ether, after Honda unscrewed the cap. Within minutes, the AV room was filled with the delicate smell of the euphoria-inducing chemical. Honda checked the room again. As predicted, they were all sleeping like babies. He removed the ether, capped it, and made his move, knowing he had little time. 

    "Genius!
What the hell's reefer, though?" Jou asked.   
    "Not
reefer, ether!" Honda corrected. "Actually, ether is the classification for such organic compounds that follow the general formula R-O-R', R being a shorthand notation for variable group."   
    "Geek,"
mumbled Jou.   
    "Do
I smell Chanel no. 5?" taunted Honda.   
    "Aa,
never mind!" Jou snapped. "Besides, now that ya got all those things, what are we gonna do with them?"   
    "I
was getting to that part, but first, something happened while I was in the AV closet..." 

    "You're
that Yugi kid!" the principal blurted. But something was different about him; where before he was tiny and awkward, this time, Yugi seemed strangely confident, almost frighteningly so. "What are you doing in my car? What do you want?"   
    "I
just want to play a game. The rules are simple. We take turns with the wheel. If you crash, you lose. If you break the rules, you face a penalty. I'll go first."   
    "No,
way, you freaky-haired little rodent. You'll drive my car on a cold day in hell."   
    "I'm
shivering," Yami deadpanned, and reached out a hand. The SUV veered in front of a motorcycle, then just as quickly cut in front of a van.   
    "AAAHHH!!
You crazy little shit! How in the hell are you doing that?" The man slammed on the brakes, but nothing happened.   
    "I'm
warning you, don't break the rules. It's still my turn."   
    The
terrified man watched as Yami turned the car onto the beltway, cutting across several lanes of traffic. His heart pounded in his ears, and his eardrums threatened to burst. Then he heard the roar of a motorcycle engine. Checking the mirror, he saw the cyclist that Yugi had cut off, as well as five more, all shiny Harleys with angry looking drivers. They were being followed by a gang. The man felt a warm dampness in his trousers.   
    "Your
turn," said Yami, and the principal frantically grabbed the wheel as the SUV lurched, threatening to roll into oncoming traffic. He was fine for a moment, then he saw a sign--the lane was becoming an exit. The principal looked for a way of getting out of it, but found himself surrounded by growling Harleys. One of the bikers threw a glass bottle. It crashed into the windshield and shattered, streaking caramel-color down into his vision. The glass bits jammed his wiper blades. He had no choice but to take the exit, and he veered off, no longer sure where he was.   
    Then
there was a loud "bang" like a gunshot, or a backfire. Not wanting to take any chances, he realized he was going to have to go faster. Buildings disappeared from the side of the road, and as he raced on he saw fewer cars. He realized what was happening too late. They were headed into a remote, forested area. The road narrowed into a single pair of lanes, and the shoulder disappeared.   
    Worst
of all, that Yugi kid seemed completely unperturbed.   
    "You
have done well," said Yami. "I take my turn again."   
    The
principal sighed, collapsing back into the seat. The moisture from wetting himself had seeped into the seat, and he fidgeted uncomfortably. What magic did this kid possess that let him take control of his car? What did he want? The man's mind raced, and then he felt a terrible jolt.   
    The
frenzied bikers were trying to run them off the road! One zoomed in front of them, but Yami accelerated and the man was forced to drop back. As Yami drove further, a fog began to settle in, glossing the road and making it slick. The windshield fogged, and both Yami and the principal strained to see through the pane. Another biker pulled in front of them, and then another. The principal began to pray.   
    Gritting
his teeth, Yami veered the car off the road and into the forest, the bikers in hot pursuit. 

    Honda
had not been in the AV closet long when he heard someone coming. He thought it was one of the nerds, and he ducked down behind a large projector cart to hide. The closet door opened, and a man stepped inside. Honda held his breath, partly to avoid detection, partly because all the ether was making him feel lightheaded.   
    "Wow,
I guess the AV club was feeling tired today," said a man's voice. Honda's eyes widened as he recognized Mr. Toshira, Anzu's teacher. 

    "Toshira?"
Jou exclaimed. "What was he doin' there?"   
    "The
same as me," Honda answered.   
    "Huh?
  
    "Well,
while I was hiding, I saw him take a LOT, I mean a _lot_ of equipment. Lots of video cameras, editing stuff, microphones--he just grabbed it all and stuffed it into this oversized briefcase he had with him."   
    "So,"
Jou began, puzzled. "Does this mean what I think it means?"   
    "Well,
either he's a thief for fun, or there's truth to the rumors."   
    "You
mean, he really is making porn films at his house? Oh, maaan, just think, it would be even better than watching them on tape..."   
    Honda
glared at Jou. "And he wants Anzu to come to his house. Jounouchi, he could be wanting to--"   
    Jou
silenced his friend, not wanting to think about it. It would be like watching his sister--that thought was even worse, and it made him shudder. 

    Just
then, Anzu remembered her promise to Mr. Toshira. She quickly pulled on some leggings and a sweatshirt over her leotard, and slid her feet into her sneakers. She'd be late if she didn't hurry. She knew there was some reason why she'd said yes when he asked, but couldn't quite remember. Anyway, it didn't matter--he was giving her an A in history, even if he did make her a little nervous. She ran out of the dance studio.   
    "Wasn't
that Anzu?" said Honda. Jou turned to look, and saw her disappear around a corner.   
    Without
stopping to answer, he took off after her.   
    "Wait
for me!" called Honda, following in pursuit. 

    Yami
tore through bushes as though they were made of air. He paid little heed to the following bikers: just enough to keep from flattening them with the SUV's monstrous tires. The principal was amazed that they were still alive. The kid seemed to have a sixth sense, knowing exactly when a tree blocked the path. One of the bikers had dropped out of the chase. If they kept this pace up, they might just survive.   
    /What
am I doing?!/   
    Yami
started, surprised by this interruption. It seemed that such dangerous activity could actually crack his control of the body, and let little Yugi's consciousness through. Little Yugi did not like what he found.   
    //Calm
yourself. Be at peace.//   
    With
a shift in the wind, a moonbeam broke through the clouds overhead. Yami realized that this game needed to end, and soon. As he reached a clearing, he said, "it is again your turn."   
    The
principal shrieked, but took the wheel. Mud flew from under the tires, and the vehicle flew over a fallen tree. The landing damaged the suspension, now the vehicle rattled and shook violently. Another biker dropped out, having hit the same fallen tree the wrong way. He flew through the air, and landed hard against an oak.   
    Then
suddenly, the principal let out a wild laugh. "Hey, kid! I'm going to win! These pussies don't stand a chance!"   
    The
third eye on Yami's forehead flashed. The man's true nature had revealed itself--a nature of ego, of narcissism.   
    "I'm
the fucking king of the road! Woo!"   
    And
the SUV hurtled toward a tree, out of control.   
    "SHIT!"
The man looked to Yami with wild eyes. "I'm outta here!" He turned and pulled on the door handle, but it was stuck shut.   
    Behind
them, the bikers pulled to a stop. The man was surely dead. They turned to get away, before they were discovered at the scene.   
    "You
would break the rules?!" said Yami. The vehicle squealed to a stop, but not fast enough, and the front end crumpled into the enormous maple. The principal was thrown forward into the airbag.   
    "Uhhh..."
he moaned.   
    "You
live for power and prestige. You see everyone around you as though they were little ants to be crushed under your feet. You believe yourself bigger than anyone else, so now, you shall see your true size!"   
    Yami
held up his hand for his trademark mindcrush. The principal closed his eyes in the brilliant light, and when he opened them, the boy had become fifty feet tall. The car, too, was huge. He reached out his hand, but could not grasp the steering wheel.   
    His
size had not changed, but his perception had. The whole world was big and he was small, the smallest man alive, no bigger than the rat he was.   
    "You
did not see me here," said Yami. The principal fainted, forgetting everything. 

    In
the fog and moonlight, a solitary figure walked toward the road. Only three miles away was the mansion of Mr. Toshira. If he hurried, Yugi might be able to catch up with Jou there. He wondered how he had gotten out here, but his Yami was not answering questions.   
    All
was quiet, but for the sound of his footsteps beating against the ground. 

End of chapter three!! Next up, find out the real deal with Toshira. Will Anzu be okay? What will happen to Jou and Honda? And, what's going on with this tournament? Sorry to leave you in suspense, but I have to get to sleep, or I might miss the episode tomorrow morning! 


	4. Pieces

**Author's Note**: _Many many thanks for the advice_, and I am sorry about the anonymous reviews thing--it's fixed now -.- Heh, the only person I've ever gotten a review from before is my little sister (and those were always: "great story, sis! Now tell me one about *insert character name here* coming to the human world to play with us!").   
    Chapter
three will be going for a rewrite to fix the Yami game, as soon as I think of something better. I confess that it was the best I could come up with at the time. I meant to emphasize the principal's overconfidence and egocentrism. But by making him too scared, I screwed it up. Is this "evidence of a diminished creative power"? I hope not...*sweatdrops*   
    In
the meantime, this chapter should be a bit more fun. AND LONG!! wow. In case anyone missed Bakura (he's so cute, isn't he?), he's up first. Oh, and those waiting on Kaiba and Mai--they'll be in for the start of Part 2 (chapter seven, unless the next two chapters turn huge like this one). Yes, this is going somewhere, and at the rate of a chapter or two a day... Thanks for reading =D 

Chapter Four - Pieces

    'Where
am I?' the softspoken, white-haired boy wondered, his words catching in his dry throat. He coughed hoarsely into a dirty hand, dizzily staring into the darkness with the empty incomprehension that comes with concussions.   
    Bakura
carefully stretched each one of his limbs, meeting with a wall on all sides. Whatever this prison was, it was cramped and claustrophobic. There wasn't enough room to lie down, nor to stand up straight. The back of his head throbbed, and fragmentary memories scraped at the corners of his consciousness, fighting for attention.   
    "I
want to be exempt, too, Mister To...shi...ra..." he mumbled weakly before collapsing in a ball on the cold floor. 

    Anzu
checked her watch as she saw the iron gates to Toshira's mansion appear on the horizon. It was only 8:15; she wasn't late. Two large men in sunglasses--despite the darkness--and ill-fitting suits stood outside the gates, one on each side. Anzu felt a chill looking at them. They reminded her of Pegasus's cronies from the island. She slowed her pace.   
    "Halt!"
the one on the left shouted. "Who goes there?"   
    Anzu
froze. Fifty feet behind her, Jounouchi froze, too, with Honda crashing into the back of him. Both fell to the curb.   
    "Dammit,
what'd ya have to do that for?" Honda demanded, rubbing an injured knee.   
    "Be
quiet!" shushed Jou, pulling him behind a tall hedge.   
    Anzu
gulped. "I'm Anzu...Mr. Toshira told me to come by today at this time," she called to them.   
    The
other one took his flashlight and shined it into her eyes. Blinded, she held up her hand to shield her face. The flashlight beam dipped to the side of her, scanning the bushes where Jou and Honda crouched, watching. There was a fog rolling in, and the beam dispersed in it, preserving their hiding place. A slight breeze rippled through the trees overhead. Anzu's heart pounded.   
    "Mr.
Toshira, sir," the left one snarled into his wrist comlink. "Your guest has arrived."   
    "I
know," replied Toshira. "I'm standing right behind you."   
    Anzu
heaved a sigh of relief. Toshira pressed a hidden switch, and the towering gates slowly slid open.   
    "There
he is!" whispered Jou, grabbing the mini camcorder from Honda. "It's time to start a movie of our own."   
    Honda
grabbed the camcorder back. "Careful with that thing, it's sensitive technology! Now, where was that port..." He mashed at the back with a tiny plug he'd pulled off one of the microphone discs. It clicked into place. Jou watched intently as Honda took a small earphone from his pocket and snapped its plug next to the first one. He then stuffed the earphone into his own ear, adjusting it to fit perfectly. Then he pressed a button on the front of the camcorder, and it lit up with power. The display screen on the back gave a clear view of his foot. "All right!" he cheered under his breath.   
    "Ehh,
gimme that!" muttered Jou, feeling tech-envy.   
    Honda
smiled at his friend, and let him have it. He simply pointed to two buttons on the top. "Zoom lens, night vision," he said. Jou looked at him with his eyes wide, the lower lids quavering.   
    "Ya
givin' it to...?" he asked, incredulous. "Thanks, man!"   
    "Just
don't break it," said Honda, embarrassed, punching him lightly in the arm.   
    Jou
clicked on the nightvision and zoom, and looked to the gate. "'Ey, what the hell is he wearin'?" Honda shoved him aside, sticking his face into the green glow of the display. 

    'Ew,'
thought Anzu, 'Why is Mr. Toshira in a bathrobe?'   
    "Anzu!
So glad you're here!" Toshira chirped, his toothy smile fixed on his face, not wavering even when he spoke. He turned sharply to the guards. "Can't you tell the difference between a threat and a friend?" he barked. "Anzu is my best student, and an honored guest."   
    "Sorry,
sir," said the right-side guard. Anzu stared at him, stepping forward toward Toshira.   
    "Hey,
I know you! You were on the island!" It was unmistakably the same flunky who had harrassed them at the gate, who had taken Mokuba, and although Anzu didn't know it, had also been the one to lure Seto Kaiba into Pegasus's trap.   
    "And
you're one of those brats--er, I mean, those nice children who defeated Pegasus and cost me my last job."   
    Toshira
snapped his fingers. "That's enough. I'm afraid this isn't going to work out. I will notify your agency in the morning."   
    The
pointy-haired man scowled. "Fine, leave your manor unprotected. I'll just be taking my leave. Good evening, Toshira-san." 

    "Wish
I could hear what they're saying," said Jou. "I thought you said these things could pick up sounds for half a mile!"   
    "OK,
so I stretched the truth a little. Sue me." 

    Toshira
sighed. "All right, all right, one last chance. You catch the guy who's been sneaking around, and I'll write you a four-year contract." The man smiled smugly, and Toshira pivoted swiftly on his heel, marching down the tree-lined brickway toward the house. Anzu looked up at the guard, who stood staring down at her.   
    "If
I were you, I wouldn't have come here without the rest of the cheerleading squad. Be warned."   
    "Coming,
Anzu?" the teacher called. 

    "They're
leaving! We need to get this on Anzu somehow so we can track them," said Honda, holding out the tiny mike.   
    "Leave
it to me," said Jou, taking it between his thumb and two fingers. "Stand in awe of the mighty arm of Jounouchi Katsuya!! KYAAAAAH!"   
    "Jou!
Don't! That thing's more expensive than my entire stereo!" 

    Anzu
turned to follow her teacher as a tiny disc arced through the air, landing precisely where her open gym bag had been a second before. Instead, it bounced off the duffel's edge and rolled back toward the gate, slowly circling around the feet of Pegasus's former bodyguard. She skipped off, and he bent down to pick it up.   
    With
robotlike precision, the man turned, his gaze focused on Jou and Honda's hiding place. The other guard looked at him, and he nodded. 

    "Craap..."
  
    "What
do we do now?"   
    "RUN!"

    He
was awake again. Still unsure how he got in this tiny closet--what else could it be?--Bakura felt along the edges of each wall, trying to find which one was the door. It was so dark. He looked down, letting his millennium ring materialize. Its soft glow comforted him as he tried to piece the puzzle of his day together.   
    Late
afternoon, and he had just gotten out of school. He tried to confront Mr. Toshira after class, but as usual the popular teacher had a ring of girls around him. He waited, but the crowd never thinned. Then he thought to ask Anzu if he might join her that evening, but she was already gone. Yugi, Jou, and Honda were all missing, as well. Bakura was confused. He wandered by himself for a little while, and then found himself in a phone booth, looking up the teacher's address in the directory. Really, he had nothing else to do with his friends missing. He would demand fair and equal treatment for boys!   
    The
mansion was far away, and it took Bakura a while to get there from the school. But when he did arrive, he saw the guards from Pegasus's castle. Bakura, being intuitive, knew that it was a bit odd for these men to have found new jobs right away, unless Toshira was actually connected to Pegasus in some way. He felt an energy emanate from his ring. There was definitely some connection, no mistaking it!   
    A
strong hand gripped his shoulder, and...that was the last thing he could remember.   
    "Think,
damn you, think!" he cursed himself, still trapped in his old routine of self-torture. But he was still so weak...his hands found a seam, and he leaned his full weight against what must be the door before succumbing once again. 

    Jou
and Honda bolted across the grass of an unknown lawn, along the length of the walled fortress that was Toshira's land. Honda tripped over a small rock, but caught himself. Jou turned to help him, and slipped in a spot of mud.   
    "Da
camera!" he gasped as it slid from his fingers. He dove, landing in the mud, but catching it. His fingers pressed into the volume button.   
    "*crzzzt*"
it crackled.   
    "Come
on!" Honda called to him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him from the ground.   
    "*crzzzt*
Return to main gate! *crzzzt*"   
    "The
mini mike!" Jou blurted.   
    "It
works!" Honda looked to Jou. "Do you know what this means?"   
    "No
clue."   
    "It
means we know exactly where they are. Stop, and listen."   
    "*crzzzt*
Negative. Recommend perimeter search. Head north. *crzzzt*"   
    "Hey,
HEY! Looks like I did something right after all!" Jou cheered.   
    "But
they're still coming. Here," said Honda, thrusting one of the two remaining mikes into Jounouchi's mud-crusted left hand. "We'll split up. If you get in trouble, activate this, and I'll find you." Honda tapped his earpiece and frowned, trying to look courageous.   
    "It
ain't necessary. But don't worry, when the guard finds you, I'll hear him," said Jou, turning away with a wave of dismissal.   
    "Good,"
said Honda. "I'm heading back to the front gate to get in that way. You find a way over this wall, and I'll meet you when you find Anzu."   
Before Jou could ask how he was supposed to do that, Honda was gone. 

    Inside
the mansion's master bedroom, a woman with long, lush black hair sat on a pile of pillows, her flimsy lavender dressing gown half-open. She had a glass of wine in her left hand and a cigarette in the right, and with a snarl she took a deep drag, the smoke curling out of her perfect nostrils.   
    Mrs.
Toshira listened to the security guards' search, watching the twelve television screens that displayed the feed from her husbands many security cameras.   
    "Fools,"
she spat. "They look, when the one they want is already here. And my plans are perfectly in place."   
    Her lover caressed her back gently. Downing the rest of her wine, Mrs. Toshira pressed a button on the security panel, changing the picture on every screen to Anzu's face, the girl walking right into the trap. 

    Jounouchi
stared up at the vines that hung over the stone wall. If they were strong enough, he could climb up here, and be inside. He heard the slow, halting commands of the guard following them through the tinny sound chip in the camcorder. He was slowly making his way along the border. Jou realized that he would be found sooner or later if he didn't keep moving. And the last place the guard would expect to find him would be inside the walls. Taking hold of a thick rope of kudzu, Jou hoisted his lean frame upwards. In no time he was at the top of the wall.   
    'I
wonder what this part of the grounds are used for,' he thought to himself. Through the camera's nightvision, he could see that the ground below him was bare, lacking even grass. There was a well-gnawed, large bone directly in front of him. Jou cringed.   
    'HUMAN
SACRIFICES! Ohhh man, I'm so outta here!'   
    The
chip crackled. "*crzzzt* Someone's trying to cross the wall! *crzzzt*"   
    Jou
looked from one side to the other, from the mangled bone to the flashlight beam now snaking through the fog and trees.   
    'I
may regret this!' he thought, and jumped. 

    "So,
Anzu, how do you like the mansion grounds?" Mr. Toshira asked. "You are always welcome to come here, if you need a quiet place to study, or to practice your dancing."   
    "Thanks,
" said Anzu, adding "I guess," under her breath.   
    Toshira
turned to her, laying his hands on her arms. "Is something wrong?" he asked, staring deep into her eyes. He moved his face in close to hers, his gaze intense. She tried to look away, and noticed that his robe had come open.   
    Anzu
recoiled sharply, trying not to scream.   
    Toshira
folded his arms. "I'm wearing shorts!" he snapped. "I put the bathrobe on so you wouldn't see my bare chest, because I had to take my shirt off when I got paint on it. Is that better?"   
    The
poor girl turned a dark shade of rose with embarrassment. "I am _so_ sorry," she protested, letting Toshira lead her by the arm. "I just...how did you get paint on your shirt, anyway?" she asked, trying hard to change the subject.   
    Mr.
Toshira sighed. "Doing exactly what I needed you to help me with," he explained.   
    "You
need me to help you paint something?"   
    He
rolled his eyes. "Don't you remember? Before you left for that Duel Monsters tournament with your little friends, I told you about my project and you said you'd love to help. We talked for half an hour, all about it!"   
    She
thought for a second, trying hard to remember what he could be talking about. She did remember that conversation, and she blushed because she also remembered not having paid a bit of attention. She'd been thinking about Yugi the entire time, and didn't even know what she'd agreed to.   
    "You
were thinking about someone the whole time," said Toshira. "Don't think I couldn't tell. I trust you had a wonderful time at the tournament?"   
    Anzu
smiled.   
    "Well,
since you don't remember the Domino Children's Theater, then I suppose I should jog your memory. If you'll follow me--the building is behind the mansion house. My choreographer is just dying to meet you, and we've kept her waiting." 

    Jou
landed hard, and with a crash. He hoped the snooping guard hadn't heard him. He checked the camera. It seemed okay. He stared into the lens, then turned it around to make use of its nightvision capability. Slowly panning from right to left, he saw some distant trees, but more importantly, a larger pile of broken, chewed bones.   
    "Sick..."
he mumbled, overcome with morbid fascination. He walked toward them, trying to stay low, and silent. Then he heard them--footsteps. Quicker than his, and more of them, and a growl that was surely not human. He whirled around, eye to eye with an enormous rottweiler.   
    "Don't
move, don't move, don't run, don't scream," he repeated to himself. "Good doggy. Nice doggy. Big doggy."   
    "...help..."

    Still
reeling, Bakura awoke for the third time. He was doing better, and he felt better, too. He could think linearly, and almost clearly. He cleared his throat, and found his voice returned to him.   
    The
guards had brought him up to see Mr. Toshira, but he was indisposed. Bakura could hear the teacher's voice, trying to stay calm, and then the shrill tones of a furious woman. He heard the sound of breaking things, and he assumed that Toshira had an unhappy relationship.   
    The
guard was getting impatient with the delays, and didn't care much for domestic disputes. He banged his fist on the door, and it opened to reveal the woman.   
    Bakura
gulped. She was gorgeous, even consumed with anger. Anger that was now directed at him.   
    "WHO
is this CHILD?" she demanded. "Hiro!"   
    Mr.
Toshira appeared from inside the bedroom. A thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth, trailing onto his shirtfront. Through it all, he hadn't lost that frightening smile. "Bakura Ryou? What brings you here?"   
    Bakura
wasn't quite sure what to say, and the words became jumbled in his throat.   
    Mrs.
Toshira stared intently at Bakura, who stood motionless, then noticed the stare. She seemed to be staring right at his chest, looking into his heart. Her eyes widened, but she recovered her composure so quickly that Bakura almost didn't catch it.   
    "Aa,
the poor boy is embarrassed! Come, now--Bakura? Come have a drink with us."   
    "Yes,"
said Toshira, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "You're such a good student, come in, here, have some sake..."   
    "You
clown," said Mrs. Toshira. He's too young for sake. Go down to the kitchen and have the cook fix him an iced tea."   
    "Of
course," said Toshira. He guided the stunned Bakura into the room, then shut the door behind him as he left.   
    That's
the last thing he remembered.   
    "Well,
this is a mystery," sighed Bakura. "Now how am I to get out of here?" 

END of chapter 4! SORRY to leave you there, but I have to go--more tomorrow! I hope this has you excited--I promise a great next chapter, with action, suspense, and maybe a twinge of romance. So let me know what you think, and keep checking for updates! 


	5. The Man who Sold the Girl

**Author's Note**: For the hell of it, here's some drama, and a small YugixAnzu moment. I did not plan on this chapter, it was supposed to all fit into #4. But then, I had all that sugar... At this point, I'm really wishing I had more artistic talent, because this would be really cool in comic form, ne?   
    Tell
me if you think it's out of line for Honda to dream of being James Bond. I know most people don't much like Honda, and probably don't think about his character much, but I imagine that he would really idolize someone like that. I mean, Honda tries to be courageous, tough, and suave, but he has a tendency to be a little...well, you remember how nervous he was when they stowed away on the ship. Anyway, he's cute. And I just felt that since I put a different spin on Yami, I'd put a spin on Honda as well. Why not?   
    By
the way, I confess it, I _adore_ Jounouchi. ~.^   
    Hey,
if you've actually read this far, I owe you one, so just leave me a note and I'll read&review your work! Thank you to those who've reviewed already! 

Chapter 5 - The Man who Sold the Girl

    The
theater, Anzu learned, was Mr. Toshira's pet project, set to start in two weeks with auditions for its first play. Toshira had invested a good deal of money building the playhouse that now stood behind his mansion, but had come up short. To get the rest of the money, he had called upon his wife, who was the truly wealthy partner. She used her connections to get a corporate sponsorship, and Toshira was grateful for that.   
    "You're
married?" asked Anzu, somewhat incredulous.   
    "To
the most beautiful woman who ever lived," Toshira assured her, with a languid sigh. "She used to be a movie star, you know--famous throughout the world."   
    "Wow,"
said Anzu. "You must be very happy."   
    "Not
really," said Toshira, looking at the ground. "She hasn't been the same lately. I...I think she's seeing someone else. I can't be sure, but some nights I thought I saw a man sneaking in around the back."   
    "Oh,
I'm sorry," said Anzu softly. "I can't imagine how I'd feel if someone I loved did that to me."   
    "It's
all right," he replied, stopping and gesturing to the large glass and metal complex before them. "We're here--the Pegasus Playhouse. Won't you come in?"   
    'Pegasus?!'
Anzu reeled. So that was why she'd seen the villain's guards round the front. Toshira's theater was sponsored by--the idea confused her, but she shrugged it off. The teacher pulled open the heavy door, and guided her inside. 

    "Nice
puppy..."   
    For
a few minutes--which felt like hours--neither man nor dog moved. Then the enormous rottweiler growled, padding slowly forward to sniff the intruder. Jou fell backwards, catching himself with his palms. He backpedaled as the canine bared its fangs, its nose coming far too close to the teen's family jewels. Snorting, the dog shook its head and recoiled, as though what it smelled had overwhelmed it.   
    "Ok,
these perfume jokes have gone too far!" Jou harrumphed. "Even the attack dogs are gettin' in on 'em."   
    Much
to his surprise, the dog approached him again, then sat, looking into the boy's bewildered face, its head cocked to one side. It whimpered.   
    "'Ey,
that's right, good boy!" said Jou, perking up. He reached out a hand to pet it. The dog jumped away, and stood motionless for an instant.   
    Then
suddenly, it barked.   
    "No,
no! Bad dog! Shh!"   
    It
didn't stop. Jou looked around himself in horror. From the shadows, more dogs had come: pit bulls, dobermans, and more rottweilers. He was completely surrounded. Slowly, he got to his feet, the camcorder rolling.   
    "Well,"
Jou gulped. "When they find my dead body, at least they'll know what happened..." 

    Honda
found the main gate completely unguarded, just as he had expected. Looking left first, then right, he took a vial of powder from his bookbag. Carefully he sprinkled it from his fingers--checking for electric eyes, just like the master spies in his favorite movies. Unlike his best friend, Honda was the meticulous, cautious type. Sometimes he tried to abandon this nature to look cooler, but it always caught up with him. This time, though, he couldn't go wrong. Even caution was cool for spies.   
    There
were no electric eyes, so Honda took the next logical step. He reached through the gate bars and felt along the wall for the switch. Finding it, he grinned triumphantly, and pushed it downwards.   
    It
broke off in his hand. Honda flushed deep red, and threw the busted switch into the bushes.   
    "Think,"
he told himself. "What would James Bond do in this situation?"   
    He
closed his eyes, trying to picture it:   
    _~*~'"Oh,_
Mr. Bond..."' cooed a blonde with a 44-DD bust, running her fingers down Honda's chest. '"You do so excite me..."'~*~   
    Honda
slapped himself in the face to break from the fantasy. With a final shiver, he looked up to the top of the gates. The black wrought iron ended in sharp points. If he were to miscalculate this vault, he'd be run through. Maybe he should just call this whole thing off.   
    "*crzzt*
Returning to front gate. *crzzt*" His earpiece crackled with the feed from the mike.   
    "Well, here goes nothing," he said to himself. With a leap, he jumped up onto the first crossbar, then shimmied up to the second, then third. Holding on to two of the spikes, he carefully put his feet up onto the curved top crossbar. He gulped, and sprang off, gracefully landing on the other side.   
    "...Sweet!"
  
    The
earpiece crackled again, and Honda broke into a run along the brickway, hoping to find Toshira and Anzu before the guards found him. 

    Jou
didn't want to look anymore. There were too many dogs. It was just a matter of time before they attacked and ate him. His hands were shaking. Two of the larger dobermans stepped forward and began to circle around him, like buzzards around the dying. The rest of the pack drew ever closer.   
    "I'm
gonna die," Jou whispered.   
    A
small pit bull jumped forward, lunging for Jou's leg. The boy drew back sharply, and the nasty beast got a mouthful of sneaker. Jou could feel the sharpness of the dog's teeth penetrating the leather. He tried desperately to shake the dog off.   
    Then
the unexpected happened. One of the dobermans attacked the pit bull! The rest of the pit bulls jumped for the doberman, prompting the other doberman to join in. It was a canine coup. Jou, in shock, seized the opportunity to run. But in the blackness of night, he couldn't see, and he smacked hard into the kennel fence.   
    The dogs were coming. He felt something hot and damp burning near his face--the mouth of a rottweiler. Desperate, he deflected the canine with his arm, and it sank its teeth into him. Screaming in agony and kicking wildly, he managed to remove the animal. Before another could bite him, he scrambled up the fence, his fingers clawing at the chain link, his feet slipping. Dogs nipped at the ends of his pants. He tried to climb higher, but the top of the pen was fortified with barbed wire. There was no way out.   
    "Help
me! Honda!"   
    And
he remembered. The mike! If he could activate it--somehow--there was a chance for him. Clinging with his left hand, he fumbled for the tiny disc with his right, which still held the camera. There it was! He had it!   
    A
dog leapt for his leg, biting into his ankle sharply. The shock sent a jolt through his body, and the precious mike slipped from his fingers to the ground. The dog could not hold on and fell. Jou grabbed the fence again with both hands, climbing as high as possible, his eyes tearing.   
    One
of the pit bulls stomped its way to the front of the fray, intrigued by the falling object. It sniffed the disc, poking it with its nose.   
    *click*

    In
the distance, Honda could hear the barking of dogs. He had found the mansion house, and had stopped under a window to catch his breath. There was no sign of Jounouchi.   
    *beep*
Honda's earpiece notified him of the activation of a second channel.   
    "Jou's
mike?" Honda wondered, switching over to it.   
    "*ROOFROWRARFARFARFWOOFGROWLARFROARROWR*"
  
    "Aah!"
Honda shouted, pained from the volume. "Jou's in trouble! Hang in there, buddy! I'll help you!"   
    He
tore off in the direction of the barking. 

    A
slim, middle-aged woman with auburn hair in a tight chignon looked Anzu up and down.   
    "Ms.
Sellers," said Toshira. "Meet the girl I told you about."   
    Anzu
would, under normal circumstances, be disconcerted by the woman's stare. But these were not normal circumstances; she was already disconcerted. She hardly even noticed the way Ms. Sellers stared, her thin lips downturned in scornful disapproval.   
    "Well?
Does it talk, or can it only dance?" the woman asked, addressing Toshira only. Both Toshira and Anzu laughed nervously.   
    "I
can talk. Pleased to meet you, Ms. Sellers."   
    From
the name, Anzu deduced that the woman was American. Perhaps even--   
    "Anzu,
I told Ms. Sellers that you were very interested in the New York City Ballet. As it happens, Ms. Sellers is close friends with one of the dancers. If you do a good job helping, she might help you get in touch with her."   
    The
starstruck brunette forgot all her misgivings. "Really?!" she gushed. "That's so kind of you!"   
    Ms.
Sellers smiled coldly. "Please, call me Anna. Now, would you care to accompany me to the stage? I have a dance that I need some...assistance choreographing."   
    "I'll
just go set up these cameras the High School loaned me," supplied Toshira. "I'll be back for you later, Anzu."   
    "Okay,"
said Anzu, skipping off to follow Anna Sellers, her newest link to the world of dance. 

    Back
at the main gate, the guard inspected the small disc he had found, and decided it was unimportant. He had seen the intruder, and knew the dogs would make short work of him. He threw the mike into the street. Then, taking a look up at the house, he pondered his actions for a minute, and made his decision. He would go see her, and get the truth. 

    "Help...somebody,
help me!" Jou called into the night.   
    "I'm
coming! Hold on!"   
    "Honda?!
Am I glad to see you!"   
    Honda arrived at the dog kennel only to find Jounouchi suspended from the fence, a dozen vicious attack dogs nipping at his heels. Jou looked to have taken a beating, and his strength was giving out. How long he had been hanging there, Honda could not tell. The top of the kennel was reinforced with so much wire that Honda realized there was no way for Jou to get out. Frantic, he searched for the gate.   
    "Honda!
Where are you going? Help me!"   
    "I'm
working on it!" Honda called. As luck would have it, it was at least twenty meters from Jou's position on the fence. Honda realized that if he opened it, the dogs would get out well before Jou got to it. There was no way to get Jou out of there without getting the dogs away from him first. Squinting to see the rest of the kennel, Honda saw the wall coated in kudzu--obviously how Jou had gotten in.   
    Jou
screamed. Honda panicked. Thinking fast, he pulled a small flare from his pack and stuck it in the kennel gate.   
    "Jounouchi!
When I give the signal, you jump off the fence and run to the flare!"   
    'I
hope this works,' Honda thought, clambering up the chain link at the corner and hopping onto the stone wall. The sound had already caught the attention of one of the dogs, and it raced over to get him.   
    Honda's
heart dropped into his stomach, but for his friend, he would do anything.   
    Even
jump into a kennel of vicious dogs.   
    He
jumped.   
    "NOW, JOU!"
  
    Jou
heard something land on the ground at the back of the kennel. The dogs at his heels ran toward it. Without taking the time to question, he dropped from the fence, half-running, half-limping toward the flare. He collapsed into the gate--and it swung open. He was free!   
    Jou
slammed the door shut behind him, and dropped to his knees, giddy with exhaustion and relief.   
    "I...I
lived! I'm all right!"   
    Then
Honda screamed. The dogs had surrounded him. He jumped for the kudzu, but it snapped in his hands and he fell to the ground. The dogs were biting him. One leapt on him, and he kicked it off, sending it crashing into the stones. It fell to the ground, not moving.   
    "Shit!
Honda! Run for the gate!"   
    With
all his strength, Honda jumped through the air, over the snapping jaws of the beasts. He crashed into the gate, and he and Jou forced it shut, pushing back the dogs, sealing them inside.   
    Both
boys looked at each other for a moment, dazed and amazed.   
    Honda
was the first to speak. "Jou! Those dogs really fucked you up bad! Your arm--"   
    "...Thank
you," was all Jou said.   
    "Don't
mention it," Honda replied. "C'mon, let's find Anzu and get the hell out of this freaky place."   
    "Yeah,"
agreed Jou. The two boys walked toward the mansion house, Jou's nightvision camera guiding them. 

    Yugi
felt a sickness crawl through his gut, and it scared him. It was a foul, eerie feeling. He was almost to the mansion now. His shoes were sodden and his wet clothing clung to his small form. He sensed a great evil--that much Yami allowed him to feel.   
    Desperate
thoughts raced through his mind. Anzu, Jou, and Honda would be at this house. He hoped to find them quickly, in case something had happened to them. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost his best friends. They were his strength, his very life. He began to run. 

    Honda
and Jou looked up at the enormous house. They had wandered around the back, and saw that there were actually two buildings. One looked very new. The other was obviously the mansion. It was made of brick, and had trellises for ivy and roses all around it. In most places, the ivy and roses had been overrun by kudzu. Most of the windows were dark, which Jou thought was odd. Only one enormous picture window, on the third floor, was lit. The boys stared upwards, Jou filming.   
    "I wonder
who's in there," muttered Honda. As if to answer his question, the form of a woman appeared. She was dressed only in a tiny bathingsuit, and she shook out her long hair, staring off into the distance toward the kennels.   
    "Rowr,"
Jou drooled.   
    A
massive man appeared behind her. She turned and scratched his face, and he grabbed her by the arm. The two scuffled for a moment, then disappeared from view. 

    "Ugh!
Let go of me!" Mrs. Toshira thrashed about, not liking the way this impudent guard was holding her.   
    "Shut
up," Pegasus's head guard grunted. "Now spill it, lady. What did you gain in murdering the boss?"   
    "I
don't have a damned idea what you're talking about! Now get out of here, before I kill you."   
    Enraged,
the guard clamped tighter on her arm. "If you weren't in on it, then why did you want all these kids to come here? The girl, the boy--"   
    Mrs.
Toshira erupted into laughter. "You think I engineered Pegasus's death because I have an interest in Yugi Mutou's girlfriend? You simple fool. Pegasus was nothing, and I didn't kill him. It would be better for me, in fact, were he still alive. Then my husband would be off my back." The way she said husband dripped with ice and hatred, and the guard, chilled, released her.   
    "Working
for Pegasus taught me to seek power," she told him. "I know who has it. I only set up the girl to get some information on his weaknesses, and then I will kill her. The boy was unanticipated. He will die, too, unless I can find a use for him. But you--you will die now. PANIK!"   
    The
eliminator stepped through the door, barely fitting through the frame. "You called?" 

    "I'll
save her!" shouted Honda, jumping onto a trellis.   
    "Wait!
You don't know who could be up there!" Jou tried to stop his friend, but he was already halfway up.   
    Just
then, Jou heard the distant crunch of car tires on gravel. Someone had arrived, behind the other building.   
    "I'll
go see who dat is!" he called to Honda, and ran off. 

    "Are
you ready?" asked Ms. Sellers, reaching for the play button on a large stereo. "Show me what you can do!"   
    Anzu
smiled broadly, and Ms. Sellers started the tape. It was a jumpy jazz fusion song, and Anzu knew exactly what to do. Endless hours of Dance Dance Revolution would now pay off.   
    _I_
once met a man with a sense of adventure /   
    He
was dressed to thrill, wherever he went...   
    Anzu
wasn't sure this song was appropriate for children, or what it had to do with any play, but it sure was fun to dance to.   
    _I_
said, "In these shoes? I doubt you'd survive."   
    Ms.
Sellers flicked off the tape. "Very nice. Now, try this classical piece."   
    "...This
hip hop"   
    "...This
new age"   
    "...This
rock and roll"   
    Anzu
had no problem with any of the songs, but she hated to admit, she was exhausted. She'd already had two dance classes that afternoon, and it was late. It seemed like Anna was trying to wipe her out.   
    "Ms.
Anna, may I...take...a break?" she gasped, the smile on her face having faded a few songs back.   
    "Oh,
but I'm almost finished. Let's try the scene, now, shall we?"   
    That
didn't sound too terrible. Anzu consented.   
    "The
scene is from a famous ballet, called Coppelia. It's about a doll, and it's much too difficult for children. So I would like to simplify it, to allow little girls to dance. Then we can incorporate it into our production, which will be a medley of famous plays about toys."   
    "What
a sweet idea, Anna!" Anzu said enthusiastically. "I'd love to see the children's theater put on a ballet! You're such a kind person to let me help--what shall I do?"   
    "Well,"
said Ms. Sellers, grinning at the irony. "You will be the doll, and I shall take you out of this wooden box to do a dance. When we finish, I will set you into the box again."   
    "Okay,"
said Anzu, stepping into the box, which rather eerily resembled a coffin.   
    'Simpleton,'
thought the older woman, quickly closing the box and locking it.   
    "Hey!"
shouted Anzu. "What gives? Let me out! Anna!"   
    The
woman laughed, and snapped her fingers. From behind the curtain, Toshira appeared, his expression one of broken spirits.   
    "Help
me get this to the loading dock," said Ms. Sellers. "Your wife's associate will be here any minute."   
    "ANNA!
LET ME OUT!" Anzu screamed, banging hard on the lid. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!" 

    Panik
made short work of the guard, and Mrs. Toshira ordered his body be removed from her sight. She lit up another cigarette. She always needed a nicotine fix after dealing with men.   
    Honda
reached her window ledge, and not seeing what else there was to do, smashed his way through the glass.   
    "What
the-"   
    "Are
you all right, miss?" Honda asked, blushing at her state of undress, and looking around for the man who had been there just minutes before.   
    'Another
one? These kids just keep coming!' She stepped forward toward Honda, lifting up a bottle of wine.   
    "Oh,
yes, thanks to you!" she purred. "Care for a drink?"   
    "Um...uh...ah...uh..."
Honda stammered.   
    She
picked up a glass and held up the bottle. Then she dropped the glass.   
    "Oops!
Would you pick that up for me?"   
    "Um...sure!"
Honda bent down, and Mrs. Toshira brought the bottle down, smashing into the back of his head. He fell.   
    "Hmph,"
she said, and picked him up, dragging him from the room. 

    Bakura debated calling out, but figured that since no one good knew he was there, the only attention he'd get would be from his captor. He'd tried several times to open the door, and now, he pushed on it once again.   
    It
opened.   
    Bakura
looked up.   
    "Join
your friend," said Mrs. Toshira, and something heavy fell on top of him.   
    And
the door shut again. 

    Jou
darted behind the Pegasus Playhouse, where he saw the unmistakable silhouette of a taxicab parked under a draping willow. A man with a stooped, bulky figure stood outside of it, smoking. Jou took another step forward, and the gravel crunched under his feet.   
    The
smoking man looked up.   
    "Hey,"
he called. "HEY YOU!"   
    Jou's
heart pounded. He stepped forward.   
    "You
seen your boss? He's got a girl I need to pick up...heh heh."   
    'He
thinks I'm a guard! Is he talking about Anzu?' He set the camera down on the ground, rolling, facing the man.   
    "Hey,
I'm talkin' to you! I got a beautiful little dancing girl to pick up, so have you seen him or not?"   
    "You
think I'm gonna let you hurt Anzu and get away with it?!" Jou demanded, charging the man.   
    "Shit,"
the man cursed. He'd be skinned alive by Mrs. Toshira now--unless he took out this kid. "If you're lookin' for a fight, kid, bring it on!"   
    Jou
unleashed a right hook to the smoker's face. The man took it in stride, and grabbed Jou's wounded arm, twisting it back. Jou howled, and high-kicked the man in the jaw. The man released Jou's arm, and both took a few steps back.   
    "Damn
you, kid, you fight like a whimpering puppy!"   
    "What
did you just call me?!"   
    Jou
smashed an elbow into the man's stomach, then uppercut his jaw. He spun a full 360 degrees, landing a flawless spinning iron butterfly.   
    The
smoking man bitch-slapped Jou across the face, then shoved his glowing cigarette into the boy's chest.   
    "Don't
mess with the big men, kid, or you'll get burned." He laughed sinisterly. Jou punched him in the stomach. The man lunged at him, and forced him to the ground. They rolled, exchanging jabs to the face, the man trying to catch Jou in a choke hold.   
    "What
do you want with Anzu?" Jou demanded as he gained the upper hand, smashing the man's head backwards into the gravel.   
    "That's
not your concern!"   
    Jou
wrapped his hands around the man's neck, adopting his opponent's own tactic. The man coughed and sputtered, then after what seemed like ages, collapsed. Jou withdrew his hands.   
    "Idiot
child!" the man laughed, having fooled him. He jumped up, tossing Jou to the ground, and ran to the cab. Jou climbed to his feet. When he looked up, the man was inside the cab. The lights flashed on, shining in his eyes.   
    'He's
gonna run me over!' Jou realized, and dove out of the way as the vehicle lurched forward.   
    The
cab driver skidded to a stop, then came back around for another pass. Jou again dove out of the way, and the cab rolled over a large garbage bag that had been left nearby. The driver must have thought he'd hit his mark, and rolled over it again twice before peeling out of the driveway and onto the road.   
    "Ha!"
Jou managed, then crawled back over to the camera. He held it up to film his face. "Here in Hollywood, that's what we call a 'fight scene,'" he said, grinned, and blacked out. 

    Mrs.
Toshira had grown apprehensive. Panik had left, per her order. From her ruined window, she saw the cab drive off. But something didn't feel right. She pulled on a dress and a coat. _He_ was coming.   
    "I'll
see you in America, Yugi Mutou," she said under her breath. It was time for her to get out of this place. 

    Honda
felt arms around him. His head hurt.   
    "She
got you, too, eh friend?"   
    "Bakura!"
Honda tried to push the other boy away, but found that they were in a very small space.   
    "Don't waste your energy. She hurt you bad. You're cut all over."   
    "No,
that's from the dogs," Honda corrected.   
    "Huh?"
said Bakura, but Honda was still woozy, and he blacked out again. Bakura sighed. Things just kept getting worse, didn't they. 

    Toshira
and Ms. Sellers carried the box with the kicking Anzu inside to the loading dock, but as they got there, they heard a car drive off.   
    "He's
leaving?!" Ms. Sellers gasped. "Well, if the deal's off, then I'm getting out of here, too, before that lunatic wife of yours has my head."   
    "Anna--"
  
    "Don't
Anna me," she spat. "If I were you, I'd get out, too. She's going to kill you next."   
    "What?"
  
    "You
heard me. So are you coming?"   
    "Run
away with you?"   
    Ms.
Sellers stamped her foot impatiently.   
    In
the box, Anzu suddenly stopped screaming and kicking. Now there was silence.   
    Toshira
froze, thinking about how much he had lost in the space of two days. He had nothing left. He lifted the rolling door to the loading area, and let her lead him away. 

    Yugi
saw the tall gates to the mansion, and felt a chill. He heard the sound of cars driving away, and one, driven by a woman whose long black hair flapped in the wind, nearly ran him over. He ran to the gates, and was stopped by a familiar face.   
    "Kid,"
said Pegasus's head guard. "I never thought I'd be happy to see you."   
    Yugi
stared as the guard opened the gate for him.   
    "It's
all right," said the guard. "Everyone's gone, and I'm supposed to be dead. You'll find your friend--what's left of her--in the building out back."   
    "Anzu!"
Yugi gasped, breaking into a run.   
    "Heh,"
chuckled the guard, clutching the wound in his stomach, and walking away. To hell with these people. He was gonna get a job behind a desk somewhere. Maybe become a writer. 

    "Oh,
Anzu," Yugi cried. What had happened to her? The whole place was deserted. He called her name several times, but got no answer. His heart burned, and tears stung his eyes. He tried the names of his other friends.   
    "Jounouchi!
Honda!" These proved equally effective. Yugi came to a door marked "stage entrance" and opened it. A tape of light classical music was playing, but there was no one present.   
    "Anzu!"
he shouted. "Anzu!"   
    He
felt energy in his puzzle, but he would not let Yami out. No, he had to find Anzu himself. He felt a soft breeze lift his bangs from his face, and instinctively he ran toward its source. The room was a delivery area, its door left rolled up. Yugi's eyes searched the room, and settled on the coffin-shaped box. It had been dropped on the ground, such that Anzu inside it lay on her back.   
    "Anzu,"
Yugi whispered. "Where are you?" 

    Bakura's millennium ring glowed, and a piece of it pointed toward the closet door.   
    "Yugi's
here!" he cheered.   
    "Wha?"
said Honda, dizzily. "Yugi?"   
    Of
course, the millennium ring happened to be poking Honda in the back, so he couldn't deny this fact. He held up a weary hand, with a small disc inside it.   
    "Call
Jou...tell him."   
    Bakura
was wide-eyed. He eagerly clicked the mike button.   
    "Jounouchi! Jou, can you hear me! Jou!" 

    Yugi
slumped, discouraged. He sat down, leaning up against the box. To his surprise, it seemed heavy, not being moved easily. He stared at the box, suddenly realizing what it reminded him of. Terrified, he reached for its lock, and opened the lid.   
    "Anzu,"
he whispered, his heart snapping in two. She was limp, and her cheek was bruised.   
    At
first, he didn't know what to do--cry, scream, find the one who did this. But none of those seemed quite right. He looked down at her, his eyes filled with pain. Then he kissed her cheek--the healthy one--delicately. And then he cried. 

    "*crzzzt* Jounouchi! Jou! *crzzzt*"   
    "Huh?" Jou muttered. "Bakura?"   
    "Jou! We're locked in the house, do you hear me, Jou? And Yugi is around, did you find Anzu?"   
    "I
hear you," Jou said. He thought he heard some soft sounds coming from the building, so he cut the volume. Someone was crying. Jou armed himself with the camera, and walked toward the open loading area. 

    Anzu
felt cool air, and began to come around from her faint. She could breathe! Then she felt something brush her cheek. Her eyelids opened slowly.   
    'Yugi?'
  
    "Oh,
Yugi, why are you crying?" she asked, trying to sit up.   
    Yugi
looked at her for a second, then grabbed her in a huge hug. "You're all right!" he managed to say.   
    "Thanks
to you," she said. "Anna and Mr. Toshira tried--" She stopped, figuring it was better just to hug him.   
    "'Ey,
Yugi!"   
    "Jounouchi?!"
said Yugi and Anzu in unison, both releasing the other, both embarrassed.   
    "Heh,"
the blond boy chuckled. "Honda and Bakura got themselves into a bit of a jam, so if you two ain't too busy, I say we go get 'em."   
    "Bakura?"
asked Yugi. "What's he doing here? And, what happened to you?!"   
    "I'll
tell you later," said Jou. "I have a feeling it's a long story, and it ain't over yet."   
    The
three heroes ran to the aid of their friends in the house. 

    Meanwhile,
back at the Turtle Game Shop:   
    Sugoroku
had been staring at two things all day. One was the envelope the invitation had come in, and the other was his favorite adult film star. He had heard a rumor that she had moved to Domino City when she had retired from the porn industry, and that was why he liked her so much. But now it was late, and he was ready to go to bed. He looked at the odd purple logo on the cover of the letter one last time, and at the sultry raven-haired woman one last time, before popping the tape from the VCR and sliding it back into its box.   
    A
box that bore the same odd logo.   
    'I
must be getting senile,' he thought. After all, what could adult film stars have to do with a Duel Monsters tournament? 

    Or,
for that matter, history teachers, ballerinas, spy mikes, nightvision camcorders, and attack dogs... 

END of chapter five! *phew* That was fun, but now it's 6 a.m.! Stay tuned for more tales from your friendly insomniac. Next up: Going to America! And more funny stuff, because this kind of drama is way hard to write -.-   
Oh, and the song lyrics are borrowed from "In These Shoes" by Kirsty MacColl. It's kinda fun; check it out sometime. 


	6. A Few Screws Loose Ends

    Skipping the standard note, let's just plunge right in to the story. 

Chapter Six - A Few Screws Loose Ends

    Jounouchi led the charge up the trellises to the broken picture window.   
    "Looks like our man got scared and ran off," he said, vaulting through and landing in a litter of glass fragments, on a dark spot on the elaborate turkish rug.   
    Yugi climbed through next. He cringed when he saw the red smear under Jou's feet.   
    "Relax, Yug', it ain't what you think," said Jou. "I know a port wine stain when I see one."   
    "I thought a port wine stain was a kind of birthmark," said Anzu, as Yugi helped her through the frame.   
    "Eh..." said Jou, a sweat drop appearing on his forehead.   
    "Knowing Jou, he's probably seen those, too," said Yugi, and Anzu laughed.   
    "Shaddup." Jou turned up the volume on the camera.   
    "Jou! Where are you, Jou?! We're locked up, help us!" called Bakura, the sound chip distorting his voice.   
    "I'd answer him," Jou confessed, "but I kinda dropped the mike somewhere, and I don't think we'll be seeing it again any time soon."   
    "Then we'll just have to start searching."   
    The three split up, off to comb through the house, calling for Honda and Bakura. But as anyone who watches television knows, mansions that seem deserted seldom are... 

    Yugi made his way to the second floor, his hand trailing along the wall. Even though Anzu was safe, and they were minutes from finding Bakura, something about this house wouldn't allow him to calm down. First, it wasn't even a proper mansion. Most of the rooms were empty, and there were only a few knicknacks and cheap-looking artwork in the halls. Every wall was the same shade of off-white, and the air was frigid and reeked of potpourri. The floor beneath him made hollow, creaking sounds as he walked.   
    'It almost looks like someone intended to abandon this place,' he thought, wandering into a sterile room with a table at its center.   
    "Bakura? Honda?"   
    Yugi was about to turn and leave, when he saw what was sitting on the table.   
    "Duel Monsters cards? Who left these..." He picked them up and stuffed them into his pocket, making a mental note to look through them later. 

    Bakura kicked on the door. Maybe Honda had been wrong. Maybe, in his semiconscious delirium, he'd only thought that this little disc would work to call Jounouchi. But even if Honda was wrong, his ring couldn't be. Someone with a millennium item was in the building.   
    "Help! Let us out of here!" he shouted.   
    "Well, well, well. Bakura and Honda are in the closet. Who would have thought?"   
    "Jounouchi!"   
    The blond teen had found them. He stood in the third floor servant's bathroom, staring at the door to a cubbyhole probably meant for towels.   
    "Do you want to _come out_ of the closet, Bakura?"   
    "Yes, yes! Let us out!"   
    "What about Honda?" Jou asked, grinning. This was hilarious. He couldn't wait to tell Yugi and Anzu--and the rest of Domino High School. It was the perfect revenge for the perfume jokes.   
    "He collapsed. I think he was hit over the head."   
    "So he's head over heels is he?" Jou replied, trying hard to restrain his laughter. He bent down and examined the lock. It was the usual kind to be found on doors, with pins and a tumbler. Cake and pie for experienced delinquents like himself.   
    "Hey! Are you making fun of us, Jounouchi?"   
    "Of course not. I just wanna know one thing." Jou carefully raked his lockpick inside the keyhole.   
    "What?"   
    "When's the wedding?"   
    Bakura kicked the door hard, and it flew open, smacking into Jou's forehead. "OW!"   
    "Oops," the white haired boy said, blinded by the sudden light. "Sorry."   
    "Ugh..." Honda moaned, rubbing his head.   
    Jou helped Honda to his feet, letting Bakura fend for himself.   
    "Oh, Jounouchi! You're wounded, too!" Bakura gasped. "Here, there must be some antiseptic here somewhere..." The boy turned to rummage through the cabinet behind the mirror, pulling out a bottle and tossing it to Jou.   
    "'Ey, thanks!" Jou said, splashing the contents onto his punctured arm.   
    ...   
    The delicate scent of roses and vanilla filled the room.   
    "Wait a sec. This isn't antiseptic! It's...it's..."   
    Jou looked up, and saw Bakura disappear into the hallway in fright.   
    Honda was doubling over with laughter.   
    "Eh, what are you laughing at?!" Jou demanded, storming out after Bakura. "I'll get you both! You just wait!" 

    Anzu had descended to the bottom floor. Calling for her friends in her soft voice, she found herself in the foyer of the main entranceway. This was good; she could unlock the front door and they wouldn't have to climb out the window. To her right was a sitting room, and to her left was a grand dining hall. As had Yugi, she noticed how sparely furnished this mansion was. Maybe the Toshiras were minimalists, she guessed. But that didn't explain the lavish grounds, the guards, or even the size of the place.   
    It was pitch black--no lights were on. Anzu squinted to see, looking into the shadowy corners. She walked past a sofa and a cabinet filled with glass trinkets.   
    "Bakura? Honda?"   
    She heard a sound behind her, like someone opening a door. She froze.   
    "...Guys?"   
    A man's deep voice chuckled, and Anzu got the feeling it wasn't about something good. She dove behind the couch as the other guard emerged from the basement, cell phone in hand.   
    "The C4 is in place. Timer activated. Five minutes to detonation." He pressed the END button on the illuminated pad, muttering to himself about these rich people who insist on C4 when a can of gas and a match would do the trick just as well.   
    'Explosives?! We've got to get out of here!'   
    Anzu watched in horror as he walked toward her hiding place. She held her breath as the goon bent down to pick up a hat that rested on the sofa cushion, and some quarters fell from his pocket, rolling underneath. As he reached to pick them up, his eyes met Anzu's.   
    "You! What are you doing there?"   
    With an uncharacteristic burst of strength, she pushed the sofa over onto the man, and ran, screaming for Jou and Yugi, up the stairs. 

    "Jou!! Yugi!! We have to get out of here!"   
    "Isn't that Anzu?" asked Bakura, just as Jou caught up to him, a murderous gleam in his eye.   
    "Huh?" Honda mumbled.   
    Yugi jumped out from the room where he'd found the cards. "Anzu? What's going on?"   
    He didn't have to wait for an answer as he could see the flunky running behind the terrified girl. There wasn't time to come up with a plan. He acted on a reflex--as she passed him he stepped forward, and tripped the man. The guard's hulking figure flew forward, limbs flailing and managing to grab Anzu's ankle and pull her to the ground with him.   
    "Hang on! We're comin'!" Jou shouted, breaking into a run.   
    Anzu shrieked, digging her fingers into the carpeting, as the man pulled her toward him.   
    "I'll save you, Anzu!" Yugi shouted, jumping onto the guard's back and slamming his heel into the back of his neck. The man gagged and released the girl, and she kicked him in the face. He threw Yugi off his back, the boy smacking into the wall. Then he looked at his watch.   
    Jou, Honda, and Bakura ran towards the fray, only to find the man running toward them.   
    "What the--"   
    Jou was pushed to the side, and the man leapt over the banister, landing on the ground floor and disappearing out the door.   
    Anzu jumped to her feet. "Yugi, guys--this place is gonna explode! We have to get out of here!"   
    "That explains a lot," Jou quipped, and the five friends broke into a run, barely making it out the mansion door before it became a fireball. 

~*~*~*~

    They'd crowded onto the D-Circuit bus, which made stops by each of the friends' neighborhoods. The other passengers, what few there were at this hour of night, stared at their sooty, mangled clothing and cuts and bruises. One guy with eight piercings in his nose alone winced at the sight of Jounouchi.   
    Bakura told his version of the story first.   
    "No way!" Jou blurted. "So that babe's the bad guy, er, lady?"   
    "Unfortunately for me," Honda replied, rubbing the back of his head.   
    Jou and Honda gave their accounts next, Jou somewhat glossing over the part with the dogs and emphasizing more his fight with the taxi driver.   
    "A taxi driver? Are you sure?" asked Yugi, remembering what had happened the night before--was it only last night?!   
    "Dead sure," said Jou. "Why, did it give you any insight, sherlock?"   
    Yugi shook his head no, and became lost in thought. Then Anzu told her side of the story, telling about the Pegasus theater and the dirty double-cross that led her to be trapped in a box. She thanked Yugi for rescuing her, but didn't bring up the hug.   
    Honda shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense," he sighed. "What's going on, here, anyway?"   
    Nobody had any idea, but Bakura suggested that perhaps they'd be better suited to thinking in the morning. Everyone agreed, and the bus drove on. Honda and Bakura were the first to depart, then the bus pulled into Jou's stop. He gave Yugi a friendly punch in the shoulder and actually smiled at Anzu before hopping off the bus.   
    "Jou! Wait! You forgot your camera!" Yugi yelled, but the blond teen was already gone.   
    Anzu took the camera from Yugi's hands. "I wonder; where's the rewind button on this thing?"   
    Yugi took the camera back. "I'll show it to my grandpa when I get home," he told her, and she turned away, staring out the window and sitting quietly next to him.   
    He felt his face grow hot, as he was somewhat embarrassed. Things felt so different than when they'd all been on the island together. He missed the way that everyone had laughed together before setting up camp for the night. He missed telling stories and messing with cards. They'd been like a family, and today--well, today they'd been through a lot, and mostly separately. What if he hadn't arrived when he had? What if Jou hadn't been there? What if...   
    And he remembered the tournament, the American tournament, and that only four could go. It pained him to think about this, because it wouldn't feel right if they weren't all together.   
    Yugi saw the bus near Anzu's stop, and he placed his hand on hers.   
    For a minute she thought he was going to ask her to ride home with him, and she smiled at him, readying to accept.   
    "Goodnight, Anzu. I'll see you tomorrow."   
    Anzu winced, bid him a hasty goodbye, and jumped off the bus. 

    Jounouchi slumped through the door to apartment 301, thinking about his friends. He saw that his father was asleep, and he tiptoed past, across a field of empty bottles, toward the kitchen for a bite to eat and some ice for his wounds, which were beginning to look infected. He found some greenish roast beef, the gristle having taken on a mother-of-pearl finish, and some greenish bread. It looked remotely edible. Jou shrugged. It was better than nothing.   
    He took a large bite of his makeshift sandwich, and promptly spat it out. Perhaps "edible" was too much of a stretch. He dumped the remains in the trash can, and set about finding something to drink. He tried the faucet, but it seemed that dear old dad hadn't paid the water bill. Worse, the aftertaste of the sandwich was more foul than the initial flavor. Jou ducked down, checking under the sink, debating whether "Drano" would taste better than "Mr. Clean."   
    ...But what was this? A bottle with a faded label, stoppered with a cork, hidden back behind the pipes. It seemed to be so old that his father had forgotten it, which Jou found hard to believe. Maybe it was a mirage. He reached out his hand, and took hold of it. The liquid inside was dark red, almost black. It had a slight viscosity. It smelled like booze. But it would get the taste out of his mouth.   
    "If dad catches me with this, I'll be dog chow. Not that I'm not already..."   
    He choked back a swig, the alcohol burning his throat. It was a good feeling. Jou took the bottle back to his room, where he could get some rest, and, if he felt like it, kick a hole in the wall. In his haze he almost missed the envelope tacked to the door. 

    Sugoroku woke up when Yugi crept in, but pretended that he was still asleep. His grandson set his backpack and something else on a table, and slowly trudged up the stairs to his bedroom. It was all the old man could do to restrain his curiosity. When he was sure the boy was asleep, he went in to the room and picked up Jou's camera.   
    'Out making movies?' Sugoroku wondered. He pondered pressing the play button, just to see what kind of drama little Yugi had contrived. And then, he made a move that would cost them all quite dearly--he didn't watch.   
    Had he watched, he would have seen Mrs. Toshira, and he would have known not to stay away from America... 

    ...Exactly where Jounouchi Katsuya was going. His father had scrawled a note on the envelope--   
    --Threw in trash by mistake. Sorry about the pizza grease--   
    But there was no mistaking the invitation, with its signature purple insignia.   
    Jou toasted his luck. In just two days they'd be on the plane to the U.S.A. There was nothing standing in their way now! 

END of chapter 6! If you thought it sucked, oh well, it was better than the first few versions. I've had writer's block bad these last couple days. Next chapter: 18 Hours on a Plane, featuring Mai and Kaiba! Yes, it's time for our favorite questionably moraled characters to make their appearance! Please tell me what you think--I am taking suggestions for where to take this story from here! Thanks!! 


	7. (Pt 2 Start) Boarderline Personality

**Author's Note**: This is the ninth revision of this exposition chapter. If not for the server crash, you guys would have been reading absolute crap -.- But some people might have found it funny, so I'm thinking about posting "outtakes" on my site (under construction, heh). Aa, and I know that the title to this chapter looks misspelled. It's a joke.   
    Next update: eheh...sometime soon? I'm really fond of this story, but it takes me a long time to write. Chapters eight and nine are half done, though--see, just like chapter four grew out of control, so did chapter seven. Which means, you can imagine what is going to happen when we get to the tournament. All the rest of the story is outlined out, give me some reviews and they'll come faster. I need to be inspired. Oh yeah and I started work on a few illustrations... 

NOW ENTERING PART II: THE EARLY ROUNDS

Chapter Seven - Boarderline Personality

    Sugoroku held a photocopy of the invitation in his hand, Yugi having taken the original with him. The kids had gone to the airport a few hours ago, but he missed them already. This tournament, as has been said before, made him nervous. In a lot of ways, so did Yugi's choice of friends. When he dropped them at the airport, he noticed that all but Yugi had some terrible bruises and bandaged cuts. With that group, you couldn't avoid misfortune for long.   
    He sighed, and for the hundredth time, he re-read the letter: 

    Dear **Yugi Mutou**:   
    As organizer of the First Annual Duel Monsters New England X Tournament, I cordially invite you to join in the event, to be held here in the United States of America, in the beautiful New England region, on [the date was smeared out by the photocopier], sponsored by the corporations on the letterhead. The tournament is by invitation only. All participants are permitted and encouraged to bring one (1) guest. Reservations have already been made for your flight and meals/lodging will be provided during the tournament, which is expected to last until [again, the date smeared out].   
    Congratulations on the accomplishments which have led to your reputation. You may have already won other tournaments, but I expect that you will find mine a true challenge.   
Sincerely,   
[unintelligible] 

    What traps lay in store for his grandson? Sugoroku couldn't be sure. He wandered up into Yugi's room, looking around at the simple furnishings, the desk with the half-finished homework assignments abandoned on its surface, the forgotten mini-camera lying on the bed next to a change of socks.   
    "Their home movies," Sugoroku said to himself. "Yugi probably wanted this. Oh, well--if I miss him too much, I'll have something to watch."   
    He thought for a while about the tournament, then went downstairs to turn the sign on the shop door to "open," and wait for customers to trickle in. 

*

__

Final boarding call for flight 945 to Los Angeles, U.S.A.! All ticketed passengers please report to Gate B74 for immediate departure!   
    The speakers rang with high-pitched feedback in the ears of Jounouchi as the five friends, much cramped for space, stood in line at the ticket counter. All around them, as far as the eye could see, was a sea of people (every shape, size, and pigmentation) and luggage (most of which were nearly identical), to everyone's dismay.   
    "Crap! We're gonna miss the plane!" he whined, taking an elbow in the ribs from another man in the queue.   
    "How many times to I have to tell you, that's not our flight!" Honda corrected. "Sheesh, where would you be if I wasn't here to hold your hand?"   
    Jou drew back with a horrified look on his face. "You ain't holdin' my hand!"   
    "Oh, would you two pipe down and be patient? There's only a few more people ahead of us, and besides, our plane doesn't leave for another two hours," Anzu huffed. Someone shoved her from behind, and she whirled around, waving her fist. "Hey, watch it!"   
    "Besides, it's not so bad waiting," Bakura contributed.   
    "Fsht," Honda harrumphed. "How could it be any worse than this? We've been here for three hours already!"   
    "You could have Yugi's view of things." Bakura smirked.   
    "That's not funny, Bakura!" Yugi snapped. Poor Yugi had been stuck behind an obese woman for the last three hours, and at his height her ample hindquarters completely consumed his field of vision. For the most part, he'd coped by keeping his eyes closed.   
    "Don't be mean," chided Anzu, giving the white haired boy a look that said "if you say anything more, I will pull your testicles off through your nose." The men pondered the anatomic possibilities of this, and as they did, the person at the counter finished, and the next person stepped up.   
    "Hey! We're moving!"   
    "Really?" Yugi asked, his hands over his eyes. Anzu guided him forward, and the line stopped again.   
    "Aww, man, we're never gonna get to America at this rate!" moaned Jou.   
    "Well, the whole trip is supposed to take eighteen hours..." Honda said, under his breath.   
    "What?! Eighteen hours?! And I only brought one CD!"   
    "Hope it's a good one," Honda teased, opening his bag to reveal his stash: game boy advance, at least twenty games, two novels, comic books, and a minidisc player.   
    "Not fair! You'd better share some of that," Jou grumbled.   
    "I'm sure you can find yourself some decent entertainment at the airport newsstand," said Honda, grinning, while Jou steamed.   
    "Wow, that's a lot of stuff! Did you leave any room for clothes?" asked Bakura.   
    "After running off to the Duelist Kingdom in a miniskirt, I learned my lesson," supplied Anzu. "And from the way you guys smelled when we got back, I hope you brought a change of socks, at least."   
    "Of course I brought socks," said Honda. "Observe. Thermal-activated, isoinsulated, hydroscopic microfiber tencel wool blend with arch support and toe cushions!"   
    "Sounds expensive," said Jou.   
    "They look like regular socks to me," said Anzu.   
    "And I suppose you'd say these look like regular boxers to you, too!" said Honda, pulling out a polka-dotted pair.   
    "Ew!" Anzu shrieked.   
    "Hey, what's going on?" asked Yugi, cautiously opening one eye.   
    "Huh--oh, the line moved again!"   
    "Hey, no cutting!"   
    "Outta my way!" 

_Now boarding flight 2142 for Chicago, U.S.A.! All first class and skyclub ticketholders please report to Gate C80!_   
    "Oh, man, we're gonna miss the plane!"   
    "Shut up, Jounouchi!"   
    "Fine, be that way," Jou muttered. "Hey, what's that?"   
    A uniformed security guard was wheeling a large sign up to the ticket counter.   
    "Don't tell me they're closing the counter! We were so close, too!"   
    "I don't think they're closing it, Anzu," said Bakura. "But it's hard to make out from here, with all these people in the way...Honda, you're the tallest, give me some help."   
    "Sure, Bakura."   
    Jounouchi cracked up, holding his stomach with his bandaged arm. "Sure...Bakura..." he gasped between laughs, "he'll...make out...with you!"   
    Anzu rolled her eyes. They were so immature.   
    Bakura squinted, trying to read the sign.   
    "That's not funny, punk!" Honda snapped, giving Jou a shove.   
    "Yeah it is," Jou countered, shoving back.   
    "Careful, guys!" Bakura cried, but it was too late. Honda pushed Jou back, Jou smacked into Anzu, Anzu smacked into Bakura, and Bakura backed into Yugi, who stumbled face first into the obese woman. She let out a scream.   
    "Pervert!!"   
    The group collectively winced as from out of nowhere they were surrounded by security guards.   
    "Look on the bright side," said Bakura timidly. "We don't have to stand in line any more..." 

*

    There was nothing that Mai liked more than turning heads. Even defeating a drooling male at Duel Monsters wasn't as fun as making one fall over just by walking past. It was especially funny when their girlfriends or wives assaulted them with pocketbooks for doing it. Besides, she needed the self-esteem boost after losing (more than once) on the island, and missing out on all that prize money.   
    Money--that was what she really needed. After her loss she'd gotten to thinking. It cost more to keep up with all the expansions and new cards than she was winning at the local tournaments. Well--maybe not that much, but her designer wardrobe, apartment, car, and gourmet tastes took up the remainder. She was shocked to find, when she returned to her flat, a bill with red ink--she was in debt! But just when things seemed the worst, she found something else in her stack of mail.   
    'I'd better win this next tournament,' she thought. 'If I don't, when I get home there will be repo men getting their grubby hands on my new tiffany lamp!'   
    So Mai stormed her way through the lines at Domino International Airport, leaving the peons to cower and grovel in her wake.   
    "The name's Mai," she told the lady at the ticket counter. "I have reservations for flight 116 to the United States of America."   
    Someone screamed, and Mai looked across at the crowds at the other nine counters for InterContinental Airlines. She had a bad feeling about this flight.   
    "Sign here, please," said the clerk, and Mai shrugged off her misgivings, surrendering her bags and heading off for her gate. 

*

    Bakura had been right. They didn't have to stand in line any more. Instead, they had their pictures and fingerprints taken by airport security, without the long wait. They got a stern lecture about horseplay from a guy in a tight-fitting uniform covered in medals, which they only half listened to. Finally, they were escorted back to the ticket counter for check-in, and they learned what the sign had said. First, no metal objects would be permitted on board. Yugi's puzzle was just an oversized charm necklace, said Jou, and they agreed to let him bring it. Throughout this discussion Bakura looked very nervous, and when no one was looking he stuffed something into his unusual white suitcase. He did not want to be caught with the Millennium Eye.   
    The second thing that the sign had said was that due to a late reservation by a group of handicapped people, they'd been bumped from first class to coach. None of them really minded, because they didn't know the difference. 

    Of course, Mai did. "I _never_ travel coach! Where is the captain? I demand to see the captain!" she snapped at the harried flight attendant standing guard at the boarding ramp.   
    "Is there a problem?" purred the pilot, looking at Mai's blond ponytail and tight caramel-colored pants, then at her snug black turtleneck.   
    "This woman--" Mai glanced at the attendant's nametag "--this Debra woman says that I have been moved to coach! I'm a duelist. I never travel coach."   
    "Really?" said the pilot, not really listening at all. "Why don't you and I go grab a coffee and talk about it. There is a whole hour until takeoff, after all."   
    'Men,' thought Mai, shrugging and following him to one of the newsstands. 

*

Meanwhile, at the Kaiba Villa:   
    "Big brother?"   
    Seto Kaiba sighed at the sound of his brother Mokuba's voice. It had that certain tone--the one that meant, "I'm reading your mind."   
    "What is it, Mokuba?" Seto asked, kneeling down to face the younger boy.   
    "When are we leaving?"   
    "For what?" Seto asked, chuckling. He had read his mind after all.   
    "The New England X Tournament," Mokuba replied matter-of-factly. "I know all about it!"   
    "Do you now," said Seto, watching the repairmen drop yet another pane of glass out the damaged window. "You're paying for that, you know," he hissed at them.   
    "I can't wait to go to America!" Mokuba cheered. "I want to see the Statue of Liberty, and eat hamburgers, and...and other American stuff! Please, Seto, please can we go?"   
    Seto Kaiba knew better than to look at his brother's eyes when he said please.   
    "I am going, but you are not," he said. "You need to stay here, while I settle the score with Yugi."   
    "But Seto..." Mokuba protested. "Last time you left me here, Pegasus's stooges kidnapped me and they locked me in the tower, and then I broke free and watched Yugi duel a ghost you, only it wasn't really you, but I knew all along, and then I got locked in the dungeon and you came but Pegasus put me in a card, and then..."   
    "I know, Mokuba. Yugi rescued you. And that is why I must defeat him in a duel!"   
    "But Seto! Why can't I come and watch?"   
    "It is too dangerous," said the elder Kaiba, his long coattails swishing behind him as he strode out of the room. "See you later, little brother." He disappeared.   
    Mokuba pouted a devious sort of pout, and ran off toward his room. 

*

    "Well, here we are," said Yugi, looking up at the sign above the boarding ramp. The light marquee read "Boston, U.S.A."   
    "And just in time, too," added Anzu. They hopped into line, holding their boarding passes and ID.   
    "See, Jou? We aren't gonna miss the plane," teased Honda.   
    "All right! California, here I come!" Jou cheered.   
    'California..?' thought everyone else.   
    "Blue skies, palm trees, surfing, naked beach volleyball..." Jou grinned, his eyes skyward as he pictured it.   
    "Naked beach volleyball?!"   
    Anzu thwapped Jou with her carry-on. "Jounouchi! We're going to _Boston_."   
    "Ow," he said, giving her a blank look.   
    "Boston, Massachusetts...?" she prodded.   
    "Right, Boston, Massachusetts, California! They're right next door, ain't they?"   
    Honda smacked himself in the forehead and the other three shook their heads slowly.   
    "What, so I guess I'll have to take the bus a ways to the beach. Can't be that far..." They were still shaking their heads. "Well according to this map, they aren't!" he protested, pulling a crinkled piece of paper from his pocket. It had ketchup stains and grease-windows all over it.   
    "Let me see that," said Honda, snatching it away. "What the--? Statue of Liberty ride? Grand Canyon log flume?"   
    "Jounouchi, that's a novelty map from Burger World! That's the new AmericaLand Amusement park!" Anzu cried.   
    "What? Oh, well, what do you expect? I got a C in geography." Jou tossed the map in the trash. "So, where is this Boston place, anyway?"   
    "Got your ID and boarding pass out, kid?" the stewardess asked him, before any of the others could answer.   
    "Yeah, uh, somewhere..." Jou checked all his pockets, worry creasing his forehead. "Hang on a sec...I had 'em a minute ago..."   
    "Step out of line, sir," Debra the stewardess told him.   
    "Heh, fooled you!" Jou laughed, holding up the papers which had been in his hand the whole time. Debra took the ticket and returned Jou his receipt, rolling her eyes the whole time. 

    "Wow, check it out!" Honda exclaimed as the friends stepped on board the 777. The seats were widely spaced, in three columns of two seats each. Drink carts were tucked into little alcoves, and every seat had a pillow and a cupholder, stacks of magazines, and a small private screen that would show the in-flight movie.   
    "This must be first class," said Bakura.   
    "Looks great! Where are our seats?" asked Jou.   
    "Not here, I'm afraid," Bakura replied. "My ticket says 25-A. What about yours?"   
    "25-C," said Jou. "So let's see... 1-A/B, 2 A/B..."   
    "I think we have to go beyond that curtain," said Honda, leading the charge through the wide aisles of first class. He pulled the curtain back, and stood in horror.   
    Before them the cabin of coach class loomed, their home for the next 14-odd hours. It had three columns of tiny seats, the two on the sides having three seats, and the center having four across. Almost all the seats--and there were hundreds of them--were filled, and the people in them glared at the five as they slowly walked along the narrow aisle, tripping over the edges of bags and tall people's feet.   
    "Talk about downgrade," Jou quipped, dodging a laptop case that fell from the compartment.   
    "Aa!" Anzu exclaimed, knocked forward by someone getting up from his seat. She fell on top of Yugi.   
    "Watch it!" snapped the man.   
    "I'm sorry--Yugi, are you okay?" she asked.   
    "I'm fine," Yugi replied, hoping vainly that people falling on him would not become the recurring theme of this trip. Well, he didn't really mind if it was Anzu. She looked rather pretty as she tried to gather up the items that fell from her bag. Her soft sky-blue sweater really brought out her eyes...and she looked so nice in jeans, he wondered why she didn't wear them more often. And her hair, loosely pinned at the back of her head, had just a few locks trailing down in front of her eyes, covering the little green smudge on her cheek that remained from their adventures a few days before. Yugi found himself staring.   
    "...You sure you're okay?" she asked again, raising an eyebrow.   
    "Hey! Our seats!" Jou cheered, jumping in and forcing Honda to climb over him. "Now dat's more like it!"   
    Yugi shook himself off and tried to hide his blush. Anzu offered him a hand up, and he accepted. He checked his ticket--24-B, right in front of Honda.   
    "There they are," said Anzu, sitting down in her window seat, Yugi climbing in after her. After all, she was Yugi's guest on this trip, so of course they would be seated together. Sugoroku had insisted that this would be a great idea, *nudge-nudge-wink-wink*, enabling him to get some quality time with his good friend, *wink-wink-nudge-nudge*. Yugi felt a little nervous. Maybe he should switch with Bakura--he turned around to look at his friends.   
    Honda had taken out his GBA.   
    "Let me play a while," said Jou.   
    "I just took it out!" Honda protested.   
    "Well then you're not really into any game yet, so I can play." Jou grabbed for it, and Honda pulled it away.   
    "No way!"   
    No, Yugi didn't think he'd be trading with Bakura any time soon. 

    "So, you like to fly, huh," Mai sighed. Apparently her good looks were too much for this little fly boy, as he'd been reduced to a simpering idiot at the sight of her ruby-red lips on the iced mochaccino's striped straw. Mai debated buying a banana, to be evil.   
    "I never get tired of it," the pilot, whose name was Mike, gushed. "You know, as a pilot you get to go anywhere you like. And pilot's spouses get all the benefits."   
    "Really, now. Is that so."   
    "But the feeling of being in the air is the best feeling in the world. I've never done anything that gave me more pleasure!"   
    "Not yet, anyway," Mai teased.   
    The pilot's eyes lit up, his face turning the same red shade as his hair. "It would have to be something _fantastic_ to beat flying," he said, winking.   
    "Well, since you like flying so much..." Mai began, bringing her arm up toward his face, and tossing her hair.   
    "...Yeah...?"   
    "You'd better get going, because you take off in fifteen minutes." She held her watch up in his eyes to prove it.   
    "Crap!" he shouted, running for the gate.   
    "Hey!" Mai called, running after him. "What about my first-class seat?!" 

    "What's going on back there?" demanded Debra, storming down the aisle as the last few stragglers buckled themselves into their seats. Honda and Jou were having a fistfight in their seats, with Honda valiantly resisting Jou's efforts at theivery.   
    "Come on, just one round of Mario!"   
    "No!"   
    "Ow!" yelped Bakura, catching a deflected attack with his face. 

    "Welcome aboard InterContinental Airlines Flight 116, with non-stop service to Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.! We'll be taxiing shortly, so please be seated and fasten your seatbelts as demonstrated by Debra, your friendly flight attendant--wherever she is. If you need assistance with your seatbelt, please notify a flight attendant immediately," a stewardess droned over the intercom, her speech known by heart. 

    "Crap," Mai muttered, striding into the plane's first class cabin. There didn't look to be any seats--except one, next to a handsome-looking gentleman, and it was right in front of her. She decided to try her luck at a bluff.   
    "Excuse me, sir, I'd like to get into my seat," she purred in his ear, discreetly waving a perfumed wrist near his nose.   
    The man laughed. "I know for a fact that's not your seat, but a pretty girl like you can travel with me any time."   
    'She'll be perfect,' he thought to himself, inwardly cackling at his impending success.   
    Mai blinked in surprise, but sat down anyway. That was almost too easy. She buckled her seatbelt and sipped her mochaccino, taking a novel from her pocketbook. 

*

    Mokuba grabbed his favorite backpack from his bedroom closet, quickly filling it with toys, and, as an afterthought, a change of socks. He thought about it a minute, and then stuffed his shirt in there, too, switching into a black one. All the better to hide in.   
    He was going to America, whether Seto liked it or not.   
    Where was his favorite hat? He couldn't find it anywhere. His big brown eyes scanned the room nervously, looking under the bed, under the dresser, in the toy chest. No hat! No hat, and no bandanna. No scuffed-up sneakers, either. He couldn't figure out where he'd lost them, so he just pulled on his newer sneakers, which he didn't like as much. The shoelaces were still white.   
    Lastly, he stuck a deck of Duel Monsters cards into the front pouch, scrunched in with a bag of gummis and a lichee gel.   
    The little boy crept out of his room, checking both ways down the hall to make sure he wasn't being watched. He couldn't be sure of his safety any more, after Pegasus's takeover attempt. The thought of going back to the Shadow Realm terrified him, even though he didn't remember the experience all that clearly. It was starting to occur to him that he'd have to look out for himself, and even though he could always rely on his big brother, sometimes even big brothers needed help. That's why he was so determined to go. He ran down the hall to the secret elevator, trying desperately to keep his footsteps from squeaking on the waxed floor.   
    The ride down to the Kaiba villa's private jet hangar seemed to take forever. Mokuba was sure that at any moment the doors would open and it would be a guard, or Seto himself, poised and ready to put him back in his room and foil his plan. But then, the elevator chimed and the door slid open, and like a stealthy ninja, Mokuba slipped into the shadows of the underground hangar. He ran in short bursts, trying to stay behind large objects. That much his brother had taught him a long time back.   
    He was in luck. The jet hadn't taken off yet. Two of his brother's flunkies--who hadn't faced his wrath for the takeover attempt--were wheeling the mobile stairs up to the side. They pushed it into place, and walked away. Fortune was with him. He waited until they were out of sight, then ran for the stairs, sneaking up them with true Kaiba grace. Mokuba crawled in, slipping past the cockpit, and hopping into the luxurious cabin. He hid behind a chair, curling up into a small ball, waiting anxiously. Was Seto here? Would they take off soon? And, he hadn't really thought about it, but what would happen when they got to America, and he was discovered?   
    Surely, Big Brother wouldn't be angry with him. He'd already taken out all his anger on his former buisness partners, making the two boys much richer as they no longer had to pay their salaries. The dark haired boy felt his stomach growl. He'd have to eat, or his own belly would give his hiding place away. He reached into his pack for a gummi. The wrapper crinkled in his fingers.   
    'Uh-oh,' he thought. He peeked out from behind his hiding space. Seto was in the pilot's seat. Mokuba heard the stairs being rolled away, and the hatch closing. The jet started up. They were leaving! He felt the plane tear along the runway, then blast out of the open door in the cliff side. He did it! He was going to America!   
    "You can't be comfortable back there." Seto Kaiba's cold monotone broke through the silence.   
    The little boy's jaw dropped. He'd known all along!   
    "Why don't you come up here and sit with me. I'll show you how to fly."   
    Mokuba's eyes lit up. "You mean--you're not mad?!"   
    "I packed your favorite hat. You'll need it in New England."   
    The younger boy ran up to the cockpit and jumped in his brother's lap. "Big brother!" 

*

    "Listen, you're going to have to tone it down until we're airborne," said Debra. "Once we turn off the fasten seatbelts sign, you can decide who gets the toy." She stomped up to the front of the plane as her fellow flight attendant finished her speech, and the plane began to roll down the runway.   
    "Eh, what's eatin' her?" Jou asked. "Must be that time of the month."   
    Anzu waved a fist at him, and Jou grinned because she couldn't reach. "Heeeh," he laughed.   
    Debra sighed as she strapped herself in to the flight attendant seat near the front of coach. Her friend, a redhead, patted her arm reassuringly.   
    "Hey, come on," the redhead said. "It's your last day."   
    "Yeah," said Debra, her voice trailing until it was just her inner monologue. 'Yeah...if those kids get on my nerves bad enough, I can get them back! They'd better watch out for me!' 

    The plane lifted into the sky gently, the shift from taxi to flight barely perceptible. As it climbed, Yugi felt himself pulled backwards into his seat. His ears hurt from the change in pressure, and he accepted a piece of gum from Anzu (over a piece of gum from Jou, which was missing the wrapper and now had the distinct flavor "pocket lint").   
    Honda's Game Boy sat in his lap, the green-gray of the powered-off display tantalizing Jou. How he wanted to press those buttons, to make Mario soar above dinosaur land. He still had to beat that second castle! Honda never let him play. He never let him have anything. It just wasn't fair.   
    The plane continued its climb, now banking right in its ascent. The small game device slid toward him, now falling off Honda's lap and touching his leg. His hands shook with anticipation. Honda was watching out the window. He wouldn't notice. Jou slowly moved his hand down toward the device, cautiously wrapping his fingers around it. He picked it up, turned the volume down to zero, and turned it on.   
    'Ah, crap, it's Golden Sun! I hate this game.'   
    "Hey! My GBA!" Honda cried.   
    In a move befitting the most desperate of men, Jou jumped from his seat, GBA in hand.   
    Some passengers screamed.   
    "What the hell?!" Debra demanded, whirling about. Those kids!   
    "Give that back!" Honda snapped, rising from his seat, cautiously making his way over Jou's bag and into the aisle.   
    "Never!" Jou shouted, running toward the back of the plane. Honda started to give chase, but was grabbed by two flight attendants, and put back in his seat.   
    "Stay where you are, sir," they demanded, walking back toward Jou, who had disappeared into the plane's bathroom.   
    "Come out of there with your hands up!" shouted one of the attendants.   
    "Sorry, I really had to go," Jou protested, an impish grin on his face. He let them lead him back to his seat, lecturing him and questioning him all the way.   
    "I guess he was telling the truth," said Debra, grinning, as Jou sat back down, setting the GBA on his friend's lap. Debra pointed down at Jou's pants. "XYZ," she said, and walked back up to the front of the plane.   
    Honda cracked up as Jou turned a deep shade of vermilion.   
    "Thanks for bringing back the GBA," he said, flicking the power switch to "on".   
    ...   
    Nothing.   
    Honda flipped the unit over, opening the back.   
    "The batteries! _Jounouchi!!_" 

    Yugi sighed, trying to ignore his loud friends, thinking about the tournament that awaited them in this foreign land. Why did Grandpa seem so nervous when he saw them off? How had the tournament's organizer known to invite him? And he understood Jou's invitation, but Bakura? Something wasn't right!   
    For that matter, what about their most recent misadventure? He knew it was tied to Pegasus--could it be tied to the tournament, as well? Yugi felt Anzu's hand next to his on the armrest, and that sent his train of thought down another track.   
    What did all of this have to do with her? She sat staring out the window at the endless ocean of clouds. Yugi was more confused than ever before--well, maybe not quite as confused as when Pegasus contacted him. But at least Pegasus explained himself--through speeches, rants, ravings, mysterious hints, treatises on the glories of cartoons--oh, and that diary that Anzu'd read to them--   
    "ALL RIGHT!" he heard Jou cheer. "In-flight entertainment!"   
    "In-flight movies?!" Honda echoed. "What's first?"   
    Jou squinted at the screen, far in the distance, a pair of airline headphones on his ears. "_Not Another Teen Movie_, I think."   
    Yugi groaned. It was going to be a **long** flight. 

*

Well, that's it for chapter seven. What'd ya think? Huh? Huh? Next up: Mai and Jou: they're on the same plane. How horrible can this author make their reunion? Read and find out. 


	8. The Danger-Prone and the Wheelchair-Boun...

**Author's Note**: Retooled, v. 4.11. SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT, ppl!! I've got 9 done too and 10 is half finished!!!   
    Updates again tomorrow!! After I re-html it!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!   
  


Chapter Eight - The Danger-Prone and the Wheelchair-Bound

  
  


    Mai fidgeted in her seat. Really, these in-flight movies got worse and worse. Even though she had her choice, it came down to "Down to You" and "Mission to Mars." Disgusted, she turned off her private screen.   
    "Not one for conventional entertainment, are you?" asked the man next to her.   
    Mai found herself blushing. "No, not really."   
    "I didn't think so. Suppose you could give me a hand?"   
    "A hand?" Mai wondered out loud.   
    "Lift up my left leg for me."   
    "What?!!"   
    "Like this. Put your hand here on my thigh..."   
    Mai choked back a scream. "Listen here, you! I'm not some cheap floozy here to service you. Just because you gave me this seat doesn't mean that I'm going to put my hands on your...ugh!" She shuddered.   
    "Well, how else am I to get into my chair?" he protested, gesturing to the wheelchair that the red haired stewardess was rolling up the aisle.   
    Mai nearly fainted of embarrassment. Of course, the man was handicapped! That's why she was supposed to have been moved from first class--these were handicapped athletes on their way to participate in the Boston Marathon.   
    "It's okay," he said, flashing her a big, 'I'm smiling to be polite' grin. "I should have mentioned."   
    Before Mai had time to make some pathetic excuses, the curtains to coach class flew open and a woman burst through, barely able to contain her anger.   
    "ARGH!" she shouted, oblivious to Mai and her seatmate.   
    "Debbie, what's wrong?" asked the redhead, jerking back the chair and letting the man fall to the ground with an 'oof'. Mai started as she noticed him kick his leg out as he fell. Crippled people couldn't do that, could they?   
    "It's those...kids," Debra snarled, clawing the back of Mai's seatmate's headrest, shaking with anger like she was the only person in first class.   
    "A flight attendant is supposed to know how to deal with children," said Mai, struggling to help the well-muscled man get into his chair.   
    "Need a drink, girlfriend?" asked the redhead.   
    "_I_ would love one," Mai grumbled.   
    "Little help, here?"   
    Debra poured herself a shot from the first class drink cart's bottle of Jack Daniel's and downed it in a gulp.   
    "I'm telling you," she groaned, wiping the excess from her lips. "I've never seen such impossible punks before. The one of them actually ran around during takeoff. The whole of coach class was screaming, thinking he was a terrorist."   
    Mai snickered. That sounded like something that Jounouchi would do. In truth, her new 'friends' from the Duelist Kingdom hadn't been far from her mind ever since they'd parted ways.   
    "That's silly. There are no terrorists on this flight," said the man, adjusting himself in his chair.   
    "Only holy terrors," said Debra, pouring another shot which her friend took away. "And these aren't little children, either. I'd say they're all at least fifteen--even the short little one with two-tone vertical hair syndrome and yellow bangs."   
    Mai snatched the shotglass away from the redhead, suddenly desperately needing it. Only one person she'd ever met fit that description. Of course, that's not to say it wasn't a person she hadn't met. Mai entered what is known as "denial," gracefully, with only two more shots.   
    'Seems like blondie here may have had prior experience with these nutjobs,' thought Debra. She looked around at the staring faces of the other first-class passengers, and at the man in the wheelchair, impatiently drumming his fingers on the armrest.   
    "Oh!" she said, resuming her normal demeanor. "I'm sorry. Would anyone like a drink? Hot towel? Christine, take this man to the bathroom, would you?"   
    "I'm on it," said the redhead.   
    Well, this flight was bizarre, to say the least. Mai slumped back down into her seat, shaking off the buzz. She just wanted to get back into her novel, and rest, and take it easy. 

    "So, Yugi," Anzu began, removing her headphones. "Are you enjoying the movie, or would you rather talk?"   
    "Huh? Hang on, I have headphones--" Yugi lifted them off. "What is it, Anzu?"   
    Anzu sighed, absently twisting the headphone cord between her fingers. "I was just thinking. What if this isn't an ordinary tournament? I get the feeling like something's not right here. Why go to all this trouble just for some little card game?"   
    "Anzu, you know it's not just a card game," said Yugi, smiling up at her. He had enough space in his seat to sit cross-legged in it, and his deck was in his lap. "Besides, we didn't get any threats or warnings, and no one's heard from Pegasus since we defeated him."   
    'Easy for you to say, you weren't locked in a box and carried off by your history teacher,' she thought. "But what if it's connected somehow to our last adventure? Things with us always turn out to be more important than they seemed, and didn't you say you found cards in the house before it blew up?"   
    "Oh, thanks for the reminder!" Yugi exclaimed, pulling the mystery deck out from his bag. He hadn't even thought about it more than to throw it in with his luggage when he packed. "I need to have a look through this. It must belong to someone."   
    "But..." Anzu started again, this time giving up. Yugi had his cards. He wouldn't be paying attention to her.   
    "Hey," he said. "It'll be like a vacation. We'll get to see...um...whatever there is in this part of America."   
    "You're as bad as Jou," Anzu laughed.   
    "Well, there's the Boston Marathon!" Yugi offered.   
    "The Boston Marathon? But I thought they already ran that back in April!"   
    Yugi shook his head. "Don't you remember? The security guards told us that there were handicapped athletes on this plane going to run--er, wheel--er, participate in the Boston Marathon. That's why we got moved out of first class--weren't you listening?"   
    Anzu blushed. "Well...Jou was making faces at me!"   
    Yugi made a face at her. "You should try paying attention sometime," he teased.   
    She poked him in the arm. Was this really shy little Yugi teasing her? If he was coming out of his shell, he picked the right time to do it, because she had a bad feeling about this tournament, and a very bad feeling about this flight. She was _sure_ that that race had already been run.   
    "Let's just watch the movies," said Anzu.   
    "Okay," said Yugi. "We can talk about your paranoia later."   
    "Hey!" she protested.   
    //So, you're learning,// laughed Yami. Yugi turned red and retreated into his headphones, turning the volume up to maximum.   
  


    Mai's seatmate returned to his seat, finding her asleep and leaning on the window. She looked pretty like that.   
    "Too bad she has to **die**!" he laughed.   
    "What was that?" asked the redheaded stewardess.   
    "I said, there's something in my eye. Hand me a kleenex?"   
  


*

  
  


Anzu yawned and stretched as the second in-flight movie, _Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo_, drew to a close.   
    "I second that," said Bakura, also yawning.   
    Jou choked down his twelfth bag of airline cracker jack. This stuff was so yummy. So addictive. Crunch. Chomp. "No way, the movie's over! We still have six more hours to go!"   
    "What are we going to do now?" Honda moaned. "Of course, if someone hadn't flushed my GBA batteries down the toilet..."   
    "Aa, be quiet," Jou groused, elbowing Honda in the ribs.   
    "Should someone be sitting between them?" asked Yugi.   
    "Don't look at me," said Anzu.   
    "Oh, no, I wasn't thinking of you, Anzu," said Yugi, blushing.   
    "And don't look at me either! It's bad enough I have sit _with_ them," said Bakura.   
    "What, does Jou smell too nice for ya?" Honda asked.   
    "AGAIN with the perfume jokes. I still haven't gotten you back for the last one!"   
    "What one was that?" Bakura asked innocently.   
    "When I sprayed rose perfume all over myself!" Jou snapped.   
    "What was that? I don't think I heard you," said Honda.   
    "I said, when I sprayed rose perfume all over myself!"   
    "Eh?" Bakura asked, cupping a hand over his ear.   
    "WHEN I SPRAYED ROSE PERFUME ALL OVER MYSELF AND SMELLED ALL GIRLY AND I HAD TO TAKE FIVE SHOWERS TO GET RID OF THE SMELL!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, shaking, fists clenched in anger.   
    The other passengers snickered, pulling up the shades on their windows.   
    "Wait a second..."   
    Bakura and Honda were laughing so hard they were about to fall from their seats.   
    "All right, wiseasses. You got me again, but I still flushed yer batteries. So what ya gonna do now, eh?"   
    "Beats me," said Bakura.   
    "Hey, I know. I'll borrow the batteries from your discman!" said Honda, reaching for Jou's bag.   
    "No way! My batteries!"   
    "Guys, calm down! Maybe we should all try getting some sleep, like everyone else," Anzu suggested.   
    "Sounds boring," said Jou.   
    "Yeah," agreed Honda. "Jou's so full of sugar, I'll bet he wouldn't last five minutes."   
    "Wanna bet?!"   
    "I just did!"   
    "You're on! Sleeping contest, the loser is the one who wakes up first." Jou pulled the tiny airline pillow out from under his seat and placed it behind his head, looking very smug.   
    "This sounds like the right game for me," said Anzu.   
    "Finally, some rest," Bakura sighed, along with the rest of the harried passengers in coach. The five friends closed their eyes, and on Jou's count of three, fell asleep.   
    ...   
    ......   
    ........   
    ....one hour later....   
    ***ZZZZZNORRKKKZZZHHHONK***   
    "Dear lord," sighed Debra the stewardess. "Restrain me."   
    "What the hell is that?" snapped the obese woman.   
    "Someone needs their inhaler," grumbled a man sitting behind her.   
    "Two someones," muttered a kid three rows back.   
    "It's as though they're fighting to see who's the most annoying," added an old lady.   
    Debra scowled, wheeling her drink cart slowly to the back. Why couldn't this plane have three classes, like the rest of the 777s? There was never a problem when she was assigned to buisness class. Never like this.   
    "Hey, lady, get those kids to shut up!"   
    She smiled her sugary flight attendant smile and inwardly told him to shove his evian where the sun doesn't shine.   
    ***ZZZZZZZZSSSSNORFFFFFF***   
    Yugi opened one eyelid.   
    "What's going on?" he wondered aloud, looking around the back of his seat toward--   
    "Jounouchi! Breathe through your mouth!"   
    With that Honda let out a loud, rattling snort.   
    "Huh?" Anzu mumbled, stretching. "Yugi? What's happening?"   
    "No one's getting any sleep!" someone snapped at her from across the aisle.   
    "I should have known this would happen," Yugi sighed.   
    Bakura had his hands over his ears. "Did you say something, Yugi?"   
    Jou and Honda let out honking snores at the same time. Someone threw a pillow. Someone else threw an apple core, which landed on Bakura.   
    "All right, kids, this has gone too far," said Debra. "I'm afraid we're going to have to separate you. It's a good thing there are empty seats--are you listening to me?!"   
    ***SNRRRRRRRRKKKKKZZZ***   
    Bakura elbowed Honda. "Wake up!"   
    "Huh? What? Bakura, I was winning!!"   
    Debra rolled her eyes and pulled an ice cube from her drink cart. She held up her hand and dropped it, right onto Jou's lap.   
    "AHHH! COLD!" Jou shouted, jumping up from his chair before being pulled right back down by the seatbelt.   
    "Sorry," Debra giggled. "My hand slipped. Would you like a cold drink with your new seat assignment?"   
    "No, but I'll take some more of that cracker jack. I'm starved!" Jou winked.   
    "New seat assignment?" Honda asked.   
    "What for?" Jou demanded. "We were sleeping peacefully!"   
    Another person threw a pillow.   
    "That's it, get up! You with the blond hair, to row 20, with the brown hair in a spike, to row 32. With white hair, stay where you are. Move!"   
    "Yes, ma'am!"   
  


    The red haired flight attendant peeked through the curtain back into coach class, shaking with laughter.   
    "Hm? What's going on back there?" asked Mai.   
    The flight attendant pulled the curtain closed sharply.   
    "Nothing," she replied, gathering her composure. "Can I get you another drink? A magazine?"   
    "No, thank you," Mai replied, settling back into her seat. She was sure she'd heard horrible noises coming from coach class. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her pants and took out her novel. It must have been her imagination.   
  


*

  
  


    Mrs. Toshira sat, bare ankles crossed elegantly, on a stool in one of Boston's many Starbucks' Coffees. It was early in the morning; there were many customers, rushing in for their java fix before the rat race. Absently she twirled a swizzle stick in her mocha latte, her hair hanging down over her eyes. So far, things had been going well enough. While her flunkies had failed to capture the girl, it really didn't matter to her. The only unfortunate bits of news had already hit her, and their effects had faded. So her "friend" Anna had vanished, and the authorities searching the gutted house had figured out that it wasn't an accident. Big deal. At least she'd gotten rid of that pesky husband of hers. He was probably the one who tipped the girl off. Well, good riddance to him.   
    The best part of all of it was that, even though the tournament was slated to start tomorrow, she still hadn't seen her boss yet. This meant she could enjoy the city life for a while before retreating to the land of country inns and farm boys. She still didn't understand the boss's insistance on hosting the tournament so far north of civilization. It was probably similar to Pegasus's reasons for the Duelist Kingdom--the terrain, the freedom, the total control over the every move of the participants. But personally, she would have preferred the Arizona desert, if the plan was to leave the participants to get eaten by the scenery. The buzzards could have them. Or even the Florida Everglades--alligators, capabera, mosquitoes the size of chihuahuas--any one of those things could take out Yugi Mutou, once she and her boss figured out how he had become so powerful. Mrs. Toshira sighed.   
    'I guess even my dear friend the boss has emotional ties to home,' she thought, lapping up a bit of frothed milk from the edge of the cardboard cup. Her deep red-brown lipstick stained it, and she pressed her lips together to even the shade.   
    Someone's cell phone was ringing. Mrs. Toshira realized it was hers.   
    "Des Fleurs," she purred, using her porn star surname.   
    _"You failed me,"_ came the reply.   
    She'd been dreading this moment. "It was your pet cab driver who ran away scared before the delivery could be made," she snapped, swirling the drink violently. "Or did he not share that detail with you?"   
    _"I put you in charge. Did you forget about that?"_   
    "Not for a second," she responded, biting her lip as her latte toppled, hot foam spilling onto the counter. "Shit. Clean that up, will you?" she barked at one of the employees.   
    _"What was that?"_   
    "Nothing important. So did you call me to chew me out, or is there something that I need to know?"   
    _"You were supposed to have arrived at the Bed and Breakfast last night. Emily was worried about you."_   
    "Your innkeeper can handle a crowd of children on her own without me."   
    _"Is that so? In that case, remind me again why I keep you around."_   
    Mrs. Toshira strode out of the Starbucks, dabbing at a coffee stain on her white jacket. Seeing that it wasn't coming off, she tossed the jacket into a garbage can and kept walking. She didn't say a word, knowing full well that her boss had reasons, or she'd be dead right now. Dead like that guard of Pegasus's. She snickered, thinking of how easily Panik had dispatched him into the afterlife. Such strength--he deserved his name. The thought made her grin.   
    _"Panik's here. But I think I will keep him with me for a while. Once you get your act together, I'll let him know where to find you."_   
    "Why, you..." Mrs. Toshira grumbled.   
    _"That's funny, I thought he was your stooge, and nothing more. Or shall I tell Hiro who's been creeping 'round the kudzu?"_   
    "Mr. Toshira is not a factor any more," she replied coolly.   
    _"That's not what I heard. But then--how should I know? In my sheltered little world..."_   
    The raven-haired woman rolled her eyes. Her boss loved toying with people, and she was not exempt.   
    _"I'll get to the point, Violette. You're to get up to the B&B by three. And remember, it's never too late to get the job done."_   
    "I'll keep that in mind," Mrs. Violette Des Fleurs Toshira replied.   
    _"Don't fail me again, Vio. And--watch out for the horses."_   
    Her cell phone beeped: End of call. Duration 05:13. Violette snapped it shut and tucked it into her purse. She took a step off the curb--and into a pile of manure, left by one of the city's many horse-drawn tourist carriages.   
    Vio let out a string of curses before stomping off in the direction of the nearest MTA subway station.   
  


*

  
  


    Bakura stretched his feet out across the three seats. With those two gone, he could relax and tend to his bruises. That attack two days ago had left quite a mark on the crown of his head, which showed, sickly green, through his soft white hair. For that reason he'd taken to wearing a hat, which made his head itch and his forehead sweat. He didn't want to even begin thinking about his sinuses. That closet had been unbelievably dusty.   
    It wasn't fair. Just as the two biggest headaches in his life got reseated, he felt a migraine coming on.   
  


    "Lousy stewardess. Stupid Honda. Bakura the jerk," Jou muttered angrily.   
    He sat down in his new seat, next to a sleeping elderly woman. Well, to Jou, anyone over 25 was elderly. This woman looked to be in her fifties somewhere, and she was just a little bit too big for her seat. Her enormous purse sat open in her lap, and on her tray and the tray in front of him, most of the contents had been arranged. Jou noticed money (which quickly became his, until he thought better of it), makeup, bits of food, breath mints, and any number of varieties of pills. The ones in the bottles were out of the question--they had childproof caps, thus thwarting any attempts at examination. But some bottles were open, and Jou made it his buisness to investigate.   
  


    "Uggghh...ohhh..." Bakura moaned, holding his head in his hands.   
    "Bakura, are you okay?" Anzu asked, looking around her seat back at the teen.   
    "My head..."   
    "If you're going to be sick, use the bag," offered Debra. She had boxed herself in by putting Jou forward and Honda back, so she had taken a seat nearby.   
    "No...I just have a headache," he moaned. "Doesn't anyone have an aspirin? Anyone?"   
    "Does anyone have an aspirin?" Yugi shouted, making Bakura wince in pain.   
    "Huh?" Jou looked around. "Yug', ya need it, I got it right here!"   
    "It's for Bakura," Yugi shouted back to him.   
    Jou scanned through the mountains of pills, one open bottle catching his eye. It sat atop its own brochure, which loudly announced:   
    "I said yes to HRT! PREMPRO (r) estrogen replacement tablets took care of my menopausal symptoms! Say goodbye to hot flashes, ladies!"   
    "I'll go get it," offered Debra.   
    While he understood maybe half those words, Jou knew that in one of those little pink tablets lay the sweetest revenge. He rubbed his hands together with glee, and picked one up, handing it to the flight attendant. "With my fondest regards," he said to her.   
  


    'This doesn't look like any aspirin I've ever had before,' thought Bakura, before swallowing the PREMPRO (r) with a swig of water.   
  


    Jou never laughed harder. He hardly even noticed the flight attendant standing over him, reading the brochure in his hand.   
    "You didn't just give that boy..." she started.   
    "What," Jou laughed. "Sorry, I guess you needed it more."   
    "WHY YOU..." she growled, and stormed past him into first class.   
    "What was that all about?" Anzu wondered aloud.   
  


*

  
  


    "Yoo-hoo, stewardess," Mai called. "I'd like another pillow. This one isn't fluffy enough."   
    No response. Mai was starting to get frustrated. After all, her seatmate was napping; she'd like to rest, too. And for that she needed another pillow.   
    "Stewardess!"   
    At that moment Debra barged through the curtains.   
    "Ah, there you are," Mai cooed. "I need another pillow, please. This one is lumpy."   
    Debra said nothing, merely went straight for the drink cart.   
    "Excuse me, I'd like a pillow."   
    The stewardess turned her head around in a manner reminiscent of the child in _The Exorcist_. She let out a growl.   
    Mai squeaked, retreating for a minute before regaining her composure.   
    "Hmph!" she grunted, climbing across her sleeping seatmate into the aisle. She snarled at Debra one final time before storming into the bathroom. It was enough to be denied the basic amenities which one expects on a first class flight, but to be outright ignored? Disgraceful.   
    But her anger was only half her reason for storming into that tiny, smelly compartment that passed as Intercontinental's excuse for a 777 bathroom. She really shouldn't have had that whiskey on top of a mochaccino...ugh. She felt ill.   
    "So, this is the Mai who's going to take the NEXT tournament by storm, huh?" she said dryly to her mirror self, rubbing the corner of a violet eye.   
  


As the door clicked behind her Debra got an idea. An evil idea. The perfect revenge! She dived through the curtains into coach class, her red-haired friend watching curiously.   
    "Oh, blondie," she cooed at Jou, who was filling in the inflight crossword, incorrectly down to letter count, and in pen. "There's a lady up in first class who wants to talk to you. Something about wanting to join a club."   
    "I don't have a club," Jou protested, scribbling madly on the puzzle. "Do you know a five-letter word for 'dense person'?"   
    "Idiot," suggested his seatmate.   
    "I am not!" Jou snapped.   
    "Oh, but I think you may have heard of this one--" her voice dropped to a whisper "--the mile-high club."   
    Jou's eyes went wide, and the pen left a six-inch trail across the page.   
    "Show me the way," he cheered, letting Debra drag him by the hand up to the first-class bathroom.   
  


    "Ughh..." moaned Mai, unbuttoning her skin-tight faux suede pants. (Mai always said, there is no way a woman could look good dressed in the skin of a cow.) Her stomach was in revolt. She hovered over the sink like a bum with a hangover, splashing her face with water.   
    "Ohhh..."'   
    And at that second the door opened.   
    "'Ello?"   
    Mai froze.   
    Jou froze.   
    Two drops of water dripped off Mai's face, landing with little splashes in the fetid sink. Her lower eyelids started to twitch.   
    "....you....?!!" they gasped in unison.   
    Jou had never been so shocked in his entire life. He took a step in towards her, his eyes wide.   
    "Is that really you, Mai?" he asked, ducking down in the confines of the room, his face close to hers. She could smell the gum he was chewing. Ew. Stale.   
    "Jounouchi...?"   
    "Yeah," he said, grinning. He liked the new look! Smart black shirt, sexy pants...hey...were those her panties?!   
    Mai turned a deep shade of red, and before another parsec elapsed she was rezipped and buttoned, and the look on her face suggested homicide.   
    'Time to run,' Jou gulped, and bolted out the door, Mai hot in pursuit. 

    "Where do you think _you're_ going?!" blared a man's voice.   
    It was the man Mai had sat next to--and now, he had her by the neck! "NOBODY MOVE! We're taking over this flight." 


	9. Loon Song

**Author's Note**: Retooled, v. 2.21.   
    Many thanks to TAFKAE for the promo!!!!!! Read taffy's stuff, ppl! And thank you to all who have reviewed.   
    JessIchi: YES, Malik and Isis and SHADI (love him) will make appearances, but not any time soon *sniff*.   
    Wanderer: good guess, you're right. =D   
    To anyone following this story, the next chapter has been very hard for me to write, mainly because I did a bit of travelling after the grad ceremony, and my sis Puar is not leaving me the hell alone. I hope to get up to 20 reviews before I post it. That way, I will know that my efforts aren't for nothing.   
    That's all out of me--enjoy the story! 

Chapter Nine - Loon Song

    "MAI!" Jou shouted, while the stewardesses ducked for cover.   
    The lunatic had pulled her onto his lap, where she was thrashing about madly. Jounouchi clenched his fists at the sight, unsure of what to do, and hoping for the first time in his life that this other man would get a high heel to the groin.   
    "Hold still!" barked the man. "You, get my chair!"   
    The flight attendant nodded slowly, shaking hands unfolding the wheelchair. Jou looked from the chair to the man, then to Mai, then back to the chair.   
    "What is dis? Equal opportunity terrorism?" he demanded.   
    "What the hell are you doing?" one of the other handicapped men barked.   
    The would-be hijacker looked confused as he lifted himself from his seat. His eyes scanned the group in first class, all large, muscular men like himself.   
    "Has the world gone insane?" Jou muttered, slowly walking backward toward the curtain to coach. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, one of the men put his hand on another's shoulder, as if to hold him back.   
    "What the hell is Stein doing?" the second man hissed.   
    "I don't know, but we can't do anything so long as he has the girl," the first hissed back.   
    'Mai...' thought Jou, staring at her frightened violet eyes. 'I have to do something!'   
    The man--Stein--was wheeling the chair back toward the cockpit door.   
    "You all think I'm crazy," he said. "I'll show you crazy. I'm not going on any more missions!"   
    "You're mad, Stein!"   
    "What did I just say?! I'm through with you and your crazy plots. I'm through with the commander, and I'm through with _Special_ Ops. This is just to prove I'm serious."   
    "Is this real?" the red haired stewardess asked, holding on to the arm of her best friend.   
    "You bet it's real," said one of the men.   
    "Don't even try to stop me, McShane. This is the end of the line for all of you. I'm bringing this plane down over headquarters, and if you so much as make a move for me--the girl dies." He gave Mai a 'friendly' choke just to illustrate, and she pulled at his arm to try to free herself.   
    "Jou!" she coughed, finding that calling for help and breathing were conflicting interests.   
    'She called for me!' he thought, jumping forward only to have one of the men clamp a hand on his arm. His bandaged arm.   
    "OW!"   
    "Careful, kid. That man is dangerous."   
    "Stein! This is madness! Give it up, now, and we'll forget it ever happened!"   
    "Speak for yourself," said Debra.   
    "One more word, and I'll snap her neck!" Stein growled. 

    _Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking. We're entering some turbulence, so please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts._

    "Who didn't pull the alarm?!" demanded the redhead.   
    "SILENCE!"   
    "AAH!"   
    "MAAAAAI!!"   
    Abandoning all caution, Jou leapt forward, leaving the seated man with a handful of dirty bandages. What happened next was a blur of limbs and blond hair. The wheelchair toppled over backwards, and Mai, Jou, and Stein rolled back toward the cabin door, their feet flailing in the air. Jou landed with his arms around Mai, somersaulting three times until his head smacked into the drink cart.   
    "Oh, God, kid, are you okay?!" demanded one of the men.   
    "Jounouchi..." Mai exclaimed, then realized where his hands were. With an indignant huff, she shoved him back into the cart.   
    "Oof..." Jou blinked, looking around for Stein. He was on his back, looking stunned. "...I did it! Ha!" He leapt to his feet, walking over to Stein's prone form.   
    "Oo, I've fallen, and I can't get up!" he said in falsetto, fluttering his eyelashes.   
    Stein grunted, lifting himself up onto his forearms.   
    "Get back, kid!"   
    But Jou was not done taunting yet. "Heh...ya said ya were gonna blow up headquarters? Wha's that, da March of Dimes building?"   
    Something clicked in Mai's mind.   
    "Jou, run!" she cried.   
    "Too late!" Stein hollered, jumping to his feet.   
    Jou's jaw dropped. What...the...hell? The guy could walk?   
    "Our cover is blown," grumbled one of the men. "GET HIM!"   
    The blond teen ducked as Stein reached out to choke him, stumbling as someone pulled him out of the way. Five large men dogpiled onto the would-be-hijacker.   
    "They ALL can walk?"   
    "And I had to give one of them a sponge massage!"   
    The one called McShane winked at the redheaded attendant before punching the defector in the eye.   
    "I've got him subdued," barked one. "Someone alert the captain, we need to make an emergency landing."   
    "I'm on it!" 

    At that moment the plane lurched with turbulence, and Stein wriggled out from underneath his captors. He ran for the curtain to coach.   
    "Stop him!"   
    "Hey, what's goin' on up he--OOF!"   
    Stein smacked into Honda, who had gotten bored with his dead GBA and had come looking for his friend.   
    "Auuugh..." both moaned, falling back through the curtain and into the narrow aisle.   
    Two men grabbed Stein's arms and slapped handcuffs on him. They got a few quizzical looks from coach class, and a few babies cried.   
    "Nothing to see here, folks," said one of the men, hauling Stein away.   
    "Honda, are you okay?" Yugi asked, helping the taller boy to his feet.   
    "Yeah...where's Jou?"   
    "Right here," Jou replied, waving. He stopped when he saw the blank stares that Honda and Yugi were giving him, and looked down at his left hand.   
    Mai was holding it.   
    Jounouchi turned a deep shade of red, and Mai sharply withdrew her hand.   
    "Hello, Yugi," she said, sounding as calm and catty as ever. She gave her ponytail a toss and sat down on the edge of her seat. "Fancy meeting you here...are you the chaperone for the preschool field trip?"   
    "'Ey!! I resent that!" Jou sniffed.   
    "Looks like little baby Jounouchi needs his bottle. Go cry to Yugi, I have some preparing to do."   
    "Don't get your black Victoria's Secret v-string, catalog no. GA-151158 panties in a bind!" he huffed back.   
    Mai turned ghost-white, staring, speechless, at him.   
    "You saw her panties? Way to go, Jou!" Honda cheered.   
    'So much for the moment,' thought the stewardess with a sigh. 'And they make such a cute couple, too.' 

*

    "So...let me get this straight," sighed Anzu, seated next to Yugi on a bench in front of Sushi Boy in LAX. "We're here in Los Angeles because a handicapped man who wasn't really handicapped freaked out and grabbed Mai, and so all the other not-really-handicapped men told the captain we had to land?"   
    "Thaf waf I fed," Jou replied, mouth dripping with burger bits and half-chewed fries from the nearby McDonalds.   
    "See, Yugi? I told you the Boston Marathon was run in the spring."   
    "But it doesn't make sense," the smallest member of the group sighed, sipping at a watery coke.   
    "Comin' through," Honda chirped, setting down a tray of chili dogs, onion rings, and fried miscellania. "Man, I'm starved! Those little bags of peanuts just don't hold you over." He took a huge bite of one of the chili dogs, which spattered grease down onto the tray.   
    "I fought fou liked four fot dogs focolate fovered," Jou chuckled, ketchup trailing down his chin.   
    Honda elbowed him in the ribs.   
    "I wonder where Mai got to," Yugi wondered, staring into the crowds in the International terminal.   
    "Wherever she went, I don't blame her," Anzu sighed, dodging a flying tater tot.   
    "At least Bakura's finally getting some rest," Yugi added. 

Meanwhile, outside their arrival gate at LAX:   
    Bakura groaned and rubbed his throbbing temples. All around him, people in throngs were chattering, all too loudly, in every living language. And that pill Jou had given him hadn't helped a bit. Now he felt irritated, and had an intense craving for chocolate.   
    To help his head he'd been staring out the massive windows, watching the loading crew and military inspect the plane. It was early in the morning in L.A., and the smoggy sunrise through the tinted glass was soft on the eyes. For a while the people had stood around the plane, staring at it blankly. Then they had begun their search, unloading the bags from the plane one by one and letting bomb-sniffing dogs inspect them.   
    Next to him, the two recognizable stewardesses from the flight were having a heated discussion, leaning on the "restricted access: authorized personnel only" door, holding it open. A muggy, heavy breeze blew in through it, perfectly complimenting the sticky feeling that coated his body. He closed his big brown eyes and sighed heavily. The luggage carts filled up, and began to roll away toward their destination planes on the branches of the U-shaped airport.   
    "Woo! There goes one," a man standing next to Bakura roared in a Texas accent, slapping the boy on the back. "Did ya see that, there, missy?"   
    "I beg your pardon?" Bakura asked, his voice squeaking in his throat. Embarrassed, he clamped his hands over his mouth, coughing. 'What's wrong with me? Did I just answer to _Missy_?'   
    "Someone lost their luggage," the Texan laughed.   
    Bakura looked where the man was pointing--   
    A white, expensive looking, unusual suitcase lay in the middle of the runway.   
    'THE EYE!' he realized, panicking.   
    Before the Texan, the stewardess, or anyone else had time to blink, he was out the door and on the ground, running madly for his bag and the powerful Millennium Item secured within.   
    "Wait! Wait!" he called after the baggage cart, running on the slick tarmac after it. "You forgot my suitcase!"   
    He ran as fast as he could, his sneaker treads somewhat worn out and slippery. The back of the cart was just ahead. He grabbed for it, and caught one of the vertical bars, pulling himself up. He tossed his bag inside, and readied to drop off. But the cart's driver slammed on the brakes!   
    "Wah--aaaaahh!!" he shouted, his feet slipping. His hands slid on the bar, but he held tight.   
    'I didn't fall!' he thought, triumphantly, sighing loudly with relief. The cart lurched to a stop.   
    And at that moment, a bag fell down from the top, and onto his damaged head. He toppled to the ground, and lay there, unconscious once again.   
    "What just happened?" demanded the redheaded attendant.   
    "I'm not sure," said Debra. "And I don't really care."   
    "That young lady just ran out by the planes!" blurted the Texan.   
    "That was a boy," said Debra.   
    "Really?" said the Texan.   
    "You know, what, Debbie?" said the redhead, looking into her friend's eyes.   
    "No, what?"   
    "I quit, too. Let's go to Mexico!" 

*

    "This situation worries me, McShane," mumbled a large, muscular man wearing sunglasses.   
    Hours had passed, and the elite _Special_ Ops force assigned to the Toshira case slumped around a table. Ten of the eleven members who still had most of their sanity intact chowed down on vending machine snack cakes, most of their optimism destroyed.   
    "The success of this mission depended entirely on our element of surprise. Disguising ourselves as crippled athletes was the perfect cover for the infiltration of Violet Distribution Media's Boston corporate headquarters, and the perfect way to catch its secretive CEO. And it was possibly the only way for us all to be involved without arousing suspicion."   
    "Way to tell the world about our top-secret mission, jackass!" snapped a younger, more wiry _Special_ Operative.   
    "I can hear you all the way over here," said the eleventh member of the team. "But you guys had better look at this."   
    All eleven crowded around the man's laptop.   
    "I just received these photographs from HQ. They're from surveillance cameras recovered at the Toshira Mansion."   
    A dark, blurry, but very distinctive still frame of Jounouchi out behind the Pegasus Playhouse met their eyes.   
    "That kid...!"   
    "Our biggest lead yet, and it slips through our fingers," cursed McShane.   
    "What do we do, now?"   
    "Gentlemen, this calls for a change of plan. I'm going it alone. Likely as not these kids are connected to Violette Des Fleurs, and they'll know if she survived the blast. And if she did, they'll lead me right to her." 

*

    The plane was prepped for takeoff, a direct, express flight to Logan International Airport. Yugi, Anzu, Jou, and Honda crowded into their seats. Apparently Mai had boarded a different flight--and so, they supposed, had Bakura, because no one had seen him nor could find him anywhere.   
    "Yugi, do you suppose something's happened to him?" asked Anzu.   
    "Eh, I wouldn't be worried," said Jou, flicking a remaining bit of dried chili sauce out of his hair.   
    "I was about to say that," said Yugi. "I'm sure he's all right, and that we'll see him when we get to the hotel tonight, if not before."   
    "I hope you're right," the girl replied. "Hey, can I see those cards you were looking at earlier?"   
    "Oh!" Yugi exclaimed. "I forgot all about them!"   
    He reached into his backpack and pulled out the deck. The top right corner of every card had a tiny nick in it. Yugi wondered what kind of a duelist would mark his cards in such an obvious and unhelpful manner.   
    "Hm...what? No one could possibly win with these!"   
    "Where have I heard that before," Jou said, rolling his eyes. "Sounds like someone needs a lesson from Gramps, eh?"   
    Yugi held up the deck for his friends to see. "The strongest monster in this deck has only one thousand attack points. Not only that, but I've never seen half these cards actually used in a duel before. The rules to use them are so complicated that the chance of their being effective is almost as slim as..."   
    "As drawing all five pieces of Exodia?"   
    "Exactly," Yugi finished. "Whoever owns these cards must have some incredible strategy, but I don't see what that could be."   
    It was a puzzle worthy of him, Yugi thought, and set about drawing hands to see the combinations he could get. He would figure this out.   
    Their second plane taxiied down the runway, lifting into the sky. It would only be a few hours now before they arrived in Boston, and their true adventures would begin. 

*

    Outlaws. On the lam, running from the law. Fugitives from a past that haunted them even now, days after the events that had changed their lives forever.   
    Hiro Toshira imagined the movie rights would sell for a small fortune.   
    Back in the car, which was an older, yellow Cadillac with rusted doors, Anna had fallen asleep. She had been driving all day, and they'd made it this far, all the way to this little island bridged off the northern coast. So there Hiro stood, scratching the stubble on his face, looking off into the sunset, and reflecting on the past week and his life in general.   
    Vio...she was something else. He couldn't stop thinking about her. The woman who had made his life so miserable, and yet--she was everything he'd ever wanted. She was his Helen of Troy, and he'd sold his soul (in the metaphorical sense) to get her, only to have her and her associates destroy his home, his everything. 

    At the beginning of the week, she'd locked him out of the room. She was glued to her computer, watching the results of some Duel Monsters tournament that her former boss was holding. Why she'd left his services Hiro didn't know; why she would still be interested in his activities was too puzzling to ponder. Finally, once the whole thing was over, she'd sulked about for an hour or two, and then the phone calls started coming. At this point he'd been evicted from the house, and wandered around the grounds aimlessly. He locked up the dogs in their kennel so that he'd be free to explore, and then he sat by one of the fountains, waiting to be summonned. It was as if he was her servant.   
    While he was out there it dawned on Hiro that some of his students had gone off to play in that very tournament that held his wife's interest. He was about to tell her when two men, dressed in suits and wearing sunglasses in the dark, approached him.   
    "Toshira-sama. My name is Kimo. You put out a call to our agency a week ago for security guards."   
    He had indeed--mainly to investigate his wife's behavior, and figure out who her mystery guest was--and he gratefully accepted Kimo's presence. With him he was able to gather up the confidence to enter his wife's inner sanctum--that plush third-floor bedroom--and confront her with his news.   
    He'd found her sitting on the bed, the window open and curtains flapping in the wind. She was on her phone, staring at one of her computer displays, typing madly with a manicured hand. Hiro guessed--rightly--who she was talking to. That boss of hers frightened him to the point of complete submission, and he was about to back out of the room when she whirled and stared at him.   
    "I'm searching as best I can," she snapped, pausing to insert a cigarette between dark lips. Her eyes told him to give her a light, and tell her what was on his mind now, before she broke his face.   
    "Vio...I, I mean, I just thought you should know that I just now realized that two students in my class went to that tournament, and if you need any more information about it, I could--"   
    "Yes, there was a diary. Yes, they found it," Vio snapped into the phone, cutting him off. She was looking at feed from Pegasus's castle's security cameras.   
    Hiro stared up at the panels, caught completely off guard. The kids reading the diary were...   
    "Vio...!" he started, but was cut off again.   
    "Why the hell don't you use your fucking powers and look for yourself. I don't see why I have to do this bullshit--"   
    A roar of crackly speech from the phone cut her off.   
    "Only one of them can read it, it seems," Vio sighed. "I'm trying to get a match on her face now. Just give me a minute, would you!"   
    "Vio, I know that girl..." her husband whispered.   
    "Got it," said Violette, tapping her keyboard.   
    "Anzu Mazaki!" they said in unison.   
    Vio nearly dropped the phone. "You may not be useless after all!" she exclaimed, then hastily added, "No, boss, I was talking to Hiro. I'll call you back--I'm losing the signal."   
    Vio clicked the phone shut. "About the girl," she began. "It seems I'm going to need your cooperation, ...darling." 

    Hiro sighed, recalling the moments with photographic clarity. It was only to please his wife that he'd gone this far. And now, he'd betrayed her by running off with Anna. Anna, who slept in the car, hanging on her shoulder belt, her auburn hair looking a little stringy where it had come out of the chignon. Anna, his wife's long time friend--the maid of honor at their wedding, even. Her top henchwoman in her "dealings."   
    Yes, there could be no question in his mind. When it all came down to it, there was no trusting Anna any more than there was trusting Violette. When he thought about it, why would Anna want to help him, anyway? They'd never been close; he hardly knew her.   
    His head was spinning. The other morning they'd gotten a newspaper at one of the gas stations where they'd stopped along the way. The headlines told the sickening truth: the house had exploded, and foul play was suspected. Who had died because of his plot? Bakura? Anzu? Two sweet, innocent kids! And his dream had always been to help children, not hurt them. Not leave them to die in a closet or a wooden box.   
    He'd only done it for the love of his wife. Hiro Toshira knew what he had to do. Hastily he took a pen and a coffee receipt from his pocket, and scribbled a note to Anna.   
    It read:   
    _Gone to find my wife. A man must do what a man must do. Love, Hiro._   
    He was no Shakespeare, but it would do. It beat the alternative: "I came, I saw, I left." He tucked it into her hand--the motion didn't wake her--and ran off into the night. 

*

    4 p.m., Eastern standard time. The four friends arrived--two hours behind schedule--in Boston, Massachusetts.   
    "Look, Yugi!" Anzu cheered, shaking her sleeping friend awake and pointing out the window. "The city!"   
    "Huh--oh! We made it!"   
    "Ha! Nothing can go wrong, now!" Jou crowed.   
    "Nope, nothing at all," put in Honda.   
    The plane touched down on the runway, rolling slowly to the gate. Four hyper teenagers grabbed their belongings and bounced off the plane, right into the spot where the enemy wanted them.   
    _"Welcome to Boston, Yugi Mutou..."_

*

END of chapter nine, and END of adventure two!! Threw you for a loop there, didn't I? But we're right back where we started--a villain whose motives make no sense, and our heroes separated, pursued by the unknown. What has fate handed Bakura this time? And, more interestingly, what will happen in the NEXT (that's the, ah, tournament, ya know.)??? Are you excited? I sure hope so, because I don't write this to bore people. Keep watching this story for more...and more...and more. Chapter Ten starts the real action so leave me a review and tell me you want it! =D 


	10. (Pt. 3 Start) Pitch

**Author's Note**: Welcome once again. I decided not to wait for reviews, because there's no way I'm going to get them with the sheer volume of people who have posted after me.   
    Besides, even if I have only one fan, I hate to disappoint. And mediaminer sucks! It eats the formatting on the poems no matter what I do! It makes me so MAD!   
    TAFKAE: I know that one pill wouldn't turn Bakura into a woman. That's why I didn't feel so bad about writing that in. But a dose of estrogen would make him feel a bit funny, don't ya think? And Malik, Isis, and Shadi are characters in the manga and anime who have other Millenium Items. They're a little bit disturbed.   
    Of course, I have to say thanks for being so supportive of this story. This chapter has been a killer to write, but the support has definitely helped me through the rough times.   
    So everyone, enjoy a little tone change as the latest adventure takes off: expect drama, angst (!) and violence, and some unusual situations! 

    /blah blah/ Yugi talking to Yami   
    //blah blah// Yami talking to Yugi, but you should know that by now because that's the method practically everyone else uses. 

NOW ENTERING ADVENTURE THREE - Of Time and Memory 

Chapter Ten - Pitch __

The soft red glow of sunset   
    lit up the fading trees --   
Their leaves rustling   
    in the mountain breeze --   
The warmth of twilight   
    bowed out for night's chill --   
And under the light of the first stars   
    we ascended the hill --   
No other cars   
    in this picturesque scene --   
Like something from a movie   
    or a dream --   
I wish Jounouchi would shut up. Tell him to cut it out, Yugi! 

    Yugi turned deep red. So Anzu had known he was reading over her shoulder while she wrote in her journal! The four remaining friends had been accosted at the baggage claim by a driver, apparently one sent by the tournament's organizers. Now they were in a limousine, en route to their lodgings. Their every move was so neatly laid out for them--how very reminiscent of Pegasus--   
    "Keep it down, Jou," he said in a tone that wasn't all that persuasive.   
    "'Ey, Honda's just as loud!" Jou protested.   
    "Am not!"   
    "Are too!"   
    "Could you just stop it for once?" Anzu snapped. "I was _trying_ to write a poem."   
    "And failing miserably," said Jou with a laugh, flopping back in his bucket seat. "Right, Yug'?"   
    "Well, I thought it was good," said Yugi, blushing. Really, he wasn't sure what he thought of it at all. It suited the situation, he supposed. How like Yami he was acting--he must be tired. He wondered if his mysterious other personality ever had any kind of emotional responses to anything.   
    "Then read it to us, Anzu," Honda commanded, sticking out his chin imperiously.   
    "You want to hear it?" she asked in surprise.   
    "No, I just feel carsick, but not enough to hurl. Thought it would help."   
    "Bah," said Jou. "Maybe it is good, if Yugi likes it. Read us a poem, Anzu."   
    "Well...okay! I have a better one in my bag here somewhere--" she fished around in her backpack for a minute, loose papers and other flotsam falling out of the overstuffed sides. A newspaper from Domino City caught everyone's attention.   
    "Da headlines," Jou exclaimed. "And lottery numbers!"   
    "You can't play the lottery..." Anzu mumbled.   
    Honda grabbed the paper and pretended to read.   
    "Extra, extra! Anzu smells!"   
    "I DO NOT!"   
    "Gimme that," said Jou, stealing the paper back and flicking on the overhead light. "Whoa..." he exhaled, whistling. "No wonder dey canceled school for two weeks!"   
    "Huh?" Anzu and Honda said in unison.   
    Yugi looked over Anzu's shoulder at the photograph Jou was pointing to. An SUV, completely totaled and wrapped around a broken tree, was displayed with the caption "Principal of Domino High School dies after accident." The teen froze, his violet eyes wide and unblinking.   
    /How could I..../ 

    _Principal K. of Domino City discovered unconscious in his sport utility vehicle, believed to have been involved in a chase, crashed into a tree Wednesday evening. Although physical injuries were restricted to a broken leg, Domino Hospital officials say that the principal's mental state had been severely compromised. Drugs and alcohol were not involved. According to doctors, K. became distraught at the sight of others, believing them to be giants. He died of heart failure brought about by hallucinations of giant needles.   
    Also, police are still searching for a man with spiky hair believed to have been a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Another man found near the scene has had charges against him related to the crash dropped...
_

    "Oh my gosh! I didn't even see that! This is terrible!" Anzu gasped.   
    "Horrible," amended Honda.   
    "Kinda cool," said Jou. "In a morbid sort of way." The others shot him icy looks.   
    "Sickening," mumbled Yugi. This odd feeling of guilt--why did it seem like his fault? He didn't recall doing this, though it was possible, and likely, that his other half had been involved somehow. And though he could console himself normally by saying that the dark Yugi wasn't him, he felt responsible.   
    "Eh, according to this article, it was the same day that we were off rescuing Anzu," said Jou, furrowing his brow in an attempt at thought. "It was near the mansion, too."   
    Yugi turned away from his friends, trying to hide the anxiety that was distorting his face and making him shake.   
    "So, you think those goons did it?" asked Honda.   
    "Probably!" said Jou. "I wouldn't put it past Kimo and dat other slimeball. If they'd try to kidnap ya, Bakura, and Anzu, I bet they wouldn't think twice about killing someone who stood in their way."   
    "Yeah," said Anzu, looking at Yugi. She flicked off the overhead light and returned the paper to her bag. "Let's rest now, we're almost to the Inn and this kind of thing will give us nightmares!"   
    "Ha, right," said Honda. "I bet we'll get the best sleep of our lives tonight."   
    Yugi was staring off into space, out the window to the outside. Only shadows and suggestions of trees could be seen in the otherwise pitch blackness. The darkness was so complete it was almost tangible. 

    /Was it you?/ he thought to Yami.   
    //Three days passed and you hadn't asked. You must know the answer.//   
    /I don't remember.../   
    //Don't you?//   
    /They aren't supposed to die.../   
    Silence.   
    /Tell me the others didn't die!/   
    //No.//   
    /No, they didn't die, or no, you won't tell me?/   
    Silence.   
    /What happened? Tell me!/ 

    The limousine pulled to a stop, much to everyone's surprise. They hadn't seen any town, or even any building, and had no idea where they were. It was like being blind, Anzu mused. The driver opened the door and bid them welcome to the Snowed Inn.   
    "I don't see any snow," said Jou. Honda elbowed him.   
    "Come on, Yugi," said Anzu. "Let's go in."   
    Yugi looked over at his female friend, his train of thought broken. "All right," he said, picking up his backpack.   
    The four stepped out of the limousine, looking around them. In the distance they could see the faint glow of candles in the windows of what seemed to be an enormous house. It was hard to tell just the size of it, but from the number of candles and their placement Yugi guessed it to be about five stories tall. Their footsteps padded along the slate walkway broken by weeds, joining the hum of crickets.   
    "Just follow the lights," urged the driver, hoisting their suitcases out of the trunk.   
    "I don't know about this place," Jou muttered under his breath.   
    "Yeah...it's creepin' me out, bad!" Honda agreed.   
    "Don't be babies," said Anzu. "Yugi's not scared, are you, Yugi?"   
    Yugi smiled and shook his head no, not that anyone could see him doing it.   
    Just then the front door swung open with a low moan, and the floorboards of the porch creaked under the weight of a bent and shriveled old woman in a heavy shawl. She held a candelabra in her left hand and gathered her shawl with her right.   
    "Yugi Mutou?" she rasped, her voice sounding like a broken accordion--no tone, just a plaintive wheeze.   
    "Oh, man. Too freaky." Jou's voice shook.   
    "That's me," said Yugi, stepping forward.   
    //...//   
    The interruption of his other half gave him pause.   
    /I thought you weren't talking./   
    //Don't go any closer!//   
    /Don't be silly...it's just a harmless old lady./   
    "Is something wrong, Yugi?" Anzu asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.   
    "The poor boy is probably exhausted from his trip. Come in, children...have a little tea, and see your rooms..."   
    "Probably witches' brew," Honda muttered. Jou snickered.   
    "Didn't I just tell you to stop being babies?" Anzu snapped. "I'm sorry...Mrs..."   
    "Sabins," said the old woman. "I've been the innkeeper here for fifty-three years."   
    "Wow," said Anzu, walking up onto the porch. "Come on, you three! Don't just stand around!"   
    //Don't trust her...//   
    Yugi harrumphed at his Yami and jumped up on the porch to spite him. Shrugging their shoulders, Honda and Jou followed. 

*

    _Special_ Operative McShane followed the limo from a distance--too much of a distance; he was lost. Not that he'd ever admit it, of course. In the darkness any road could well be the one he needed, and they were all the same to him. It had been hours since they'd all arrived in Boston, hours of driving through this miserable (though quaintly charming) region. He fished around in his pants pocket and found a caffeine tablet--better get two. He popped both pills and kept bloodshot eyes on the road.   
    Then the headlights shone on something shiny--a parked vehicle. Now McShane, being a first-class _Special_ operative, was not about to stop and ask for directions, but he _did_ know that a car out this way was suspicious and prompted investigation. McShane slowed the vehicle to a crawl and parked in the bushes, which, though he did not know it, were mostly poison ivy. He fitted himself with nightvision goggles and adjusted his earpiece, and stepped out of his car.   
    Something rustled to his left. Instinctively his hand went to his side, poised over his stun gun. He approached with caution, trying for silence despite the twigs snapping underfoot. Another rustle to his right--he whirled around, but saw nothing. He drew his gun warily, his gut telling him that this was not just a squirrel or a deer. He walked toward the other car, one step, two steps--three--he froze, but the footsteps didn't. Whirling around, his face was met with a high-heeled boot. His gun flew from his hand.   
    McShane went down, bleeding from his mouth. He caught himself as he fell, looking up through the blackness at his attacker.   
    "Ha ha ha ha ha!" Violette Des Fleurs Toshira laughed, madness catching in her throat. "_Special_ Ops sends only the most _special_ for me."   
    "Des Fleurs!" McShane blurted, spitting out a molar and trying to climb to his feet. "You're alive?!"   
    "I was about to say the same."   
    "You've gotten weaker since last time, Violette," McShane growled, swinging a right hook for her head. She deflected it easily with an upper block, jabbing a low kick into his shin with the same boot as before. The heel punctured the skin, and the man howled in pain.   
    "Have I? That's news." She kicked out for a head strike, but the wounded operative caught her leg and sent her spinning toward the ground.   
    "The truth hurts, doesn't it," McShane laughed. Through the goggles his adversary was a green glow on the ground, struggling to get up in stillettos. He took advantage of the moment to slap a healing patch on his leg and look around for his gun.   
    "You freak," she grumbled. "Have I ever mentioned how much I hate you?"   
    He caught sight of his gun on the ground and dove for it, but Vio was faster, and leapt onto his back, squeezing his neck with her thighs. He was knocked to the ground, the gun out of reach.   
    "Now most men would kill to be in your position. But you, you're just going to be killed."   
    "How...witty..." he choked, trying to roll her off.   
    "I ought to snap your neck right now," she snarled, scratching at his face with her talon-like press-ons.   
    He bucked sharply, tossing her off him. Gasping for breath, he scrambled for the gun, only to have her grab on to his arm like a leech. She was biting him.   
    "Eeeyaarrrghh!" he roared, rolling over and kicking at her much smaller form.   
    Two kicks to her abdomen and she let go, climbed to her feet, and punted the gun into the bushes.   
    "Bitch," he grumbled, scrambling to stand. "Fight me like a man!"   
    "I beg your pardon?" she scoffed, facing him. Her hair made a green halo around her body. A few strands adhered themselves to her face, and her mouth hung open slightly as she breathed heavily, snorting softly with each exhale.   
    "Fight me. You know you've always wanted to. This can be the end, Violette."   
    She backstepped. McShane seemed stronger than last time--or maybe it was true, she _was_ weaker. If only the boss had let her have one of those charms--but no, apparently they were all needed to start the tournament.   
    "This has to be a trick. You think I'd fall for such an old one?"   
    "You've fallen for some odd things," McShane quipped. "But then you kill them. You make me sick, Des Fleurs."   
    "I doubt he's dead," Vio grumbled, circling him like a vulture. "I have bad luck."   
    "If I'd known that, I'd have brought you a rabbit's foot." He turned slowly, keeping the front of his body toward her at all times. "But I'm serious. One last fight: the loser at the winner's mercy."   
    "For old time's sake," Vio smirked, her fists up. "I accept." 

*

    The four sat in the sitting room, which was filled with hundreds of candles dripping wax down the sides of bottles. Above them, an iron chandelier held ten more candles that burned with a softer, blue glow.   
    "I apologize for the darkness," the old woman sighed, pouring each friend a steaming cup of brown tea. "The electricity is fickle today."   
    Honda and Jou gave each other a look. Anzu sipped her tea with an "arigatou."   
    Yugi looked down into the swirling froth on the top of the tea. It seemed to make a familar shape...   
    //Yugi, listen to me! Do not trust her!//   
    Yugi set the tea down on its saucer, seeing the fringe of the old woman's shawl trail over his knees. A wave of apprehension passed over him.   
    /How can I trust YOU?/   
    "Sleepy, little one?"   
    He looked up slowly. The face of death looked down at him, and he saw a black stone slip through the old woman's fingers. It was centered in a silver teardrop backing, and set in it was a silver stylized eye--it flashed in front of him--   
    At that moment everything around him cracked into fragments, and his pupils disappeared in his eyes. He fell forward to the floor.   
    "Yugi!" Anzu screamed.   
    "...Yug'?" said Jou, waving a hand in front of his friend's face. "What's happened to him?!"   
    "Snap out of it, buddy!"   
    "...can't..." Yugi mumbled, his lips barely parting.   
    "He must be tired," said the old woman.   
    Anzu and Honda stared at her. Jou tried shaking Yugi out of it, but it was no use.   
    "What did you do to him?!" Anzu cried.   
    A tear escaped the ancient eye, followed by another, losing itself in the wrinkles. "So like I was..." she sighed. "Won't you come to your rooms? The other guests are sleeping..." 

    //A spell..// 

    Yugi looked in front of him. The sitting room had vanished; the candles had changed to taillights. He stretched out his hand, but saw his aibou's instead. 

    "What did you do to him?!" 

    Yugi didn't recognize her voice. It had become the scream of Ushio the rule-enforcer. Then others appeared--opponents, antagonists all, punished by Yami. He felt his body leave the ground, running in a sharp pattern around the legs of the antagonists. Then there was fire. He saw the fortune teller from school, the bully from the upper class who had destroyed their booth at the carnival.   
    "I remember..." he whispered. 

    "He looks so scared," Anzu said softly.   
    "He's all right. Lost in a memory..." the old woman began, clutching her pendant. "I'll forgive you for accusing me. Won't you follow me to your rooms?"   
    A chill passed over the three friends, and they found themselves unable to protest any longer. 

    The punished faded one by one, the light Yugi's heart pained at the sight of them.   
    //They lived...//   
    /.../   
    But one was left.   
    The SUV tore across the road.   
    /I tried to stop you. I remember now./   
    The bikers raced alongside, through the woods. He saw the tree. He saw the twisted wreckage.   
    He saw the man cheering for victory.   
    He saw the mindcrush. 

    Then of a sudden he was in the soul room. His friends saw the glowing of the puzzle. 

    /Why do I punish?/ 

    Silence. 

    /Why did we kill?/ 

    /WHY?!/ Yugi roared, as around him the shadows of Yami's soul room swirled.   
    But there was still no answer, even after the hundredth plea. The walls with their dimension-skewing rows of impossible staircases began to fade, and were replaced with the walls of Yugi's own soul room. Ejected! Dejected, Yugi kicked at the toys that littered his own room's floor, before coming to in someone's arms, back in the darkness again. 

*

    Bakura awoke in a holding cell. None of his belongings were anywhere to be seen.   
    "Cómo estás?" someone asked.   
    The white-haired boy looked around and saw a number of other men in the cell with him. Just what he needed.   
    "I beg your pardon?"   
    The person looked at him in frustration.   
    "Cómo te llamas?"   
    "I'm sorry, I don't speak your language."   
    "Tienes tu pasaporte? Otras documentos?"   
    "Listen, I don't understand! I don't speak..whatever the hell that is."   
    "Necesitas pasaporte para viajar en los Estados Unidos. Hay que obtenerlo ANTES de tu llegada!"   
    Bakura sighed.   
    "Pa...sa...por...te," the man said slowly, taking out his own passport.   
    Bakura took it.   
    "Arigatou," he said.   
    "No! Necesitas el TUYO! Ese es el mio!"   
    "Ese...?"   
    "Cállate, pinche cabrón!" The man slugged Bakura in the arm, taking his passport back.   
    'I may be here a while,' Bakura sighed to himself, moving as far away from the other man as possible. 

*

    Anzu sat there for a few minutes in the dark, not knowing what to say or do, in the clammy haze of semiconsciousness that left her so uncomfortable. She'd changed into her pajamas and now she sat at the end of Yugi's bed--the two had to share a room; she was his guest after all. In a way she was almost glad that Yugi was in this condition because it meant that Jou and Honda skipped teasing them. But in a more accurate way, she was torn up with conflicting emotion--worry for Yugi, anger, fear, and mistrust. He was hiding something; and that was what made him this way.   
    She shook in the darkness: couldn't see a thing, having been unable to light a candle for fear of working a lighter. Ever since that day when Yugi--well, Yami Yugi--had rescued her from the escaped convict at Burger World by setting him on fire, she refused to go near it.   
    And it was strange, she thought, that for some reason it all came back to her so clearly, in every frightening detail. As she'd been walking upstairs to the room, forcing herself to trust the old woman, she'd caught a glimpse of some sort of necklace. The second she saw it, the face of that criminal had entered her mind, and Jou almost had to carry her up the stairs, too. The face kept laughing--it wouldn't stop. The laughter rang in her ears, and she curled up in a little ball on the bed, trying to shut it out.   
    "Make it go away...make it stop, please..." she whimpered.   
    And then she heard the voice--"game of darkness," it said. The dark Yugi, her rescuer! Still whimpering she crawled toward Yugi, huddling next to him.   
    Something about this place wasn't right. It almost seemed haunted. And the old woman--there was something eerie about her.   
    But Anzu knew there was no such thing as haunting, or witches, or ghosts. The only real magic was in Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. She put her hand on it, hoping it would help her.   
    "I remember..."   
    "Yugi..." she whispered. "What do you remember?"   
    "I remember..."   
    Anzu bit her lip.   
    "_I_ remember being rescued," she told the face in her mind. She could see the man's tattoos, his pores. And she remembered that he'd blindfolded her--it was dark, like this, like the room. And cold. "I remember being rescued!"   
    "I remember..."   
    Anzu fought back the face, only to have another appear in its place. Her history teacher.   
    "I remember..."   
    "And you saved me then, too," she breathed. "I won't be scared."   
    "Why...?"   
    She couldn't see him at all, but she wished she could.   
    "Only a friend is worth that..."   
    "Wake up," she said, sitting up on the bed. "Come on!"   
    "Why..."   
    She leaned over him, squinting her eyes. "Yugi, wake up."   
    "Why...."   
    "Yugi..."   
    Anzu lifted him up into her arms.   
    "Come on, wake up. I'm scared."   
    "Why..."   
    She squeezed him tightly. "Wake up."   
    "WHY?!" he nearly screamed, thrashing violently. She held on, and he stirred.   
    "Where am I?" he asked hoarsely.   
    "With me."   
    "Oh," he said, and fell asleep. 

*

    Midnight. 

    An ancient finger turned the page of a weathered old journal.   
    "When I was younger," the innkeeper rasped, "I used to be such a dreamer..." 

    The grandfather clock in the sitting room began to chime.   
    "My head was always in the clouds." 

    The clock struck two. Three. She held on to the charm she'd been given. It felt so cold in her hand. 

    "Like you, I thought I'd live forever...but I know I can't. I had so much ahead of me, and now it is all memory..." 

    Four, five, six. She walked into the hallway, silently as a ghost.   
    _"Grandmother, read to me..."_

    Seven, eight. Shaking hands held up the book. 

    "I wrote this, you know..."   
    _"I know, Grandmother."_

    She walked out to the garden. 

    Nine, ten.   
    "My brother said it would be good to write..for when I had children, I could tell them such stories..."   
    _"Read to me, Grandmother."_

    Eleven.   
    _"Read to me!"_

    The old woman broke, her voice cracking on each word. The charm in her hands burned suddenly hot, and she released it. 

_"At first you run, and then you find   
The past returns in fire's glory   
To haunt the shadows of your mind...   
They live to tell the fated story..."_

    Twelve. 

    "So...cold...." 

    _"I know, Grandmother."_

    Slowly, the shadows crept from around the ancient lady's fallen body up into the house, diffusing into the blackness, through the walls, and into each room of the old Snowed Inn. 

    "So...cold," mumbled Anzu in her sleep.   
    "Cold," mumbled Yugi. 

    And then the shadows diffused into them. 

    It was open again. Their bodies were frozen in time, ashen, and still...until even they vanished into the pitch. 

*

    "No weapons."   
    "No weapons."   
    "No tricks."   
    "No tricks."   
    Each term Vio gave, McShane echoed. Finally the sultry brunette stopped circling her prey.   
    The air hung still and clammy. Leaves fell.   
    "Then come get me," she said.   
    With a thundering spirit cry, the operative lunged at the sexpot. He grabbed a handful of her shirt, readying for ippon. But she went to dead weight, and wrapped her legs around his waist as he lifted her. He wound up with a torn piece of fabric.   
    "Prick. That tank cost $450."   
    She dropped to the ground and did a backward handspring.   
    "Sprightly for a woman in her forties," McShane taunted, faking a left side kick and springing in with a right hook kick.   
    Vio sidestepped easily with a snarl. She dove forward with the grace of one doing tai chi, slicing knife-hand strikes at his neck, vertical backfists to his chin.   
    He bobbed like a charmed snake, sharply blocking each attack. His left knee up, he went for a defensive front kick, snapping her chin backward.   
    She held her hand over her mouth.   
    "My toof! You broke my toof!"   
    This didn't stop McShane, who swung up his foot for another vicious blow. Vio ducked, a spark of malice flashing in her eye. She dove underneath his attack and delivered a sharp kick to the small of his back. He staggered forward, trying to turn around as she followed up with a downward kick to his calf. Her front tooth had been halved, and she held the piece in her hand. The jagged remainder had cut her lip, and the blood that was starting to crust in the corner of her mouth was the same color as her lipstick.   
    "I'll kill you!" she screamed as he shook, trying to breathe.   
    "Do you have to keep going for my leg?" McShane whined, limping backwards. Then he noticed the woman reach for her belt. Something in his mind screamed "danger!" and he backpedaled up a slope, right into the side of Vio's parked car.   
    She sprang at him, a flash of metal in her right hand. Instinctively he grabbed her wrist, letting his cheek take only a scratch. Bulldozing her away from the car, he executed a devastating sweep with kimura, first shoving her downwards, incapacitating her arm. Then he rolled onto his back, throwing her over his head with the aid of a foot to the groin. Her arm twisted sickeningly as she flipped, her boots smashing the car window. He rolled onto her chest, pinning her downwards, trying to wrench the spike from her hand. Vio thrashed and bit, scratching with three nails and trying to put the tooth piece in her pocket.   
    "Does it hurt?" he teased, finally loosing the spike. "Cheater."   
    She snorted, abandoning her weapon and rolling sharply out of his grip. While Vio wasn't experienced in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, McShane wasn't exactly a master. He took two kicks to the stomach and one to the groin before tumbling out of the way.   
    "Gyaaah!" she screamed, jumping onto his back. Her heels dug into his sides, and he bucked her off as easily as before. Then he rushed her with a fierce headbutt, knocking her back. She smacked into a tree, and ducked as he swung a punch to her head. His fist smacked the trunk, and he drew back, his knuckles engrained with bark bits.   
    "Look everyone," she chuckled. "It's the master of '_shounen-ai_'kido!" She drew up into a cat-stance, daring him to try another move. Her right arm hung limply at her side.   
    "If you're calling me gay, you should know that I have a wife and daughter," McShane said, looking down his nose. He took a back stance, breaking off a tree limb to use as a bow staff. Twirling it like a baton, he held it menacingly before him.   
    "If I didn't hate him so much, I'd almost say he looks really hot right now," Vio mumbled to herself.   
    McShane swung the makeshift staff around, then jabbed it forward at the woman's solar plexis. He stopped within microns of her flesh, and as she inhaled, it touched her.   
    "There's nothing I won't do to see you fall, Des Fleurs," he snarled. She put her hands on the staff and pushed it to the side, only be lifted from the ground and tossed, then beaten across the back with the heavy limb. He stabbed it into her kidneys, then her ribs, making a sickening crack. He continued to beat on her, not giving a damn that she was down, only wanting to see her dead. Her eyes began to cross--then she saw it on the ground.   
    A tear-shaped pendant lay under her nose. Dull and ugly, it hardly sparkled, and she never would have found it unless--   
    'You knew, boss,' she laughed to herself. Picking it up--it was heavy, like lead--she turned to face her adversary as he brought down another crushing blow.   
    His eyes widened in horror as she simply pushed the stick aside like a feather. Something was wrong; she shouldn't even be breathing. But she was, a labored, rattling exhale with jaw quivering. Her eyes seemed to be giving off light. He could see nothing through his goggles, and he pushed them up off his face. Taking another step back, he watched in horror as she snapped her bones back into place, fastening a necklace around her neck. Her form distorted, the edges becoming wavy. And her face--she suddenly looked just like--   
    "Oh, god..." he mouthed.   
    She stepped again into cat-stance. Fighting the urge to run, knowing he couldn't escape, he weakly threw a punch. Her arm flew up and caught it. With a scream, she twisted it around as she brought up her left leg, knee first, then extension. His chin cupped in the high heel, she swiveled her hips and brought him down, pulling sharply on the arm. It broke with a crunch. His head hit a rock, and he was out. 

*

    //The Shadow Realm.// 

    Yami Yugi stood up, looking around him. The last thing he remembered, he'd been fighting with his aibou. Now the smaller Yugi was nowhere to be seen. He called for him, but got no answer: so this was how the silent treatment felt.   
    Strange--he shouldn't be here. He saw no one else, no challenger; it was impossible to imprison him in the Shadow Realm because of his puzzle. Yami remembered a strange spell, and candles. 

    "The old woman." 

    Impossible as it sounded, she must have been the one to do it. To open the shadow realm, and isolate him from the others. The dark Yugi brooded for a moment. If he could feel cold he would have shivered: the bed, the only piece of the room that hadn't faded away, was frosted over. There was a layer of ice on the ground, and the only light came from the puzzle. He closed his eyes, calling again for his other half. And this time, there was sound. Strange music drifted across the barren dimension, a strange song on a strange instrument. Yami stepped off the bed, walking toward the music.   
    Each step brought the world more into focus. The shadows began to take shape, forming a door, the seam of which allowed in a crack of yellow light. Yami reached for the knob, turning it slowly. As it opened he saw he was in the Inn, in the hallway outside the bedroom. Soft sunlight streamed in through the windows, illuminating the yellow striped wallpaper, and the music grew louder. He walked down the hallway towards it, hardly noticing the blurred edges of walls and portraits.   
    He came to a room--another door, with light behind it. It was here that the music was loudest. Without hesitation he opened the door and found a little girl with chin-length brown hair playing the piano. She was humming along with her playing, her tiny left hand struggling to make the octave jumps. Her little saddle-shoed foot barely reached the sostenuto pedal, and as a result the song had an eerie, light quality. The bright sun through the lace curtains left fade-lines on the velvet chairs, and backlit the girl's hair.   
    So little, but still, so familiar. Yami couldn't quite place her, and she went on playing as if no one had entered the room.   
    He took a step toward her, leaving no imprint in the oriental rug. 

    "Little girl?" he said, slowly. 

    She kept playing, her blue eyes cloudy with tears. 

    "By the gods..." Yami whispered. "Anzu?" 

*

END! Are you ready for Chapter 11?! Relive the horrors of the past with me! As requested, a bit more definite Anzu/Yugi and Mai/Jou. KISS ALERT. ~_^ And in addition to that, I'm not going to slack off on the violence/action. Stay tuned for a preview while I work on the remainder of this third adventure--feel free to submit input, which I will more than likely use! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far!! And to the people who e-mailed! You guys are GREAT! 


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